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NGExpert financial copywriter
Page written by Chris Godfrey. Last reviewed on September 4, 2024. Next review due October 1, 2025.
Small business grants can provide crucial funding for Florida entrepreneurs seeking to advance their career, launch a startup, or grow their current business. Although business grants are typically difficult to secure and come with strict qualifying rules, they have major benefits that are very hard to beat: Grants are free money. You don’t have to repay the funds. There’s no interest to pay. There’s no debt to carry.
Florida business owners can improve their chances of winning a small business grant by preparing in advance. Key tasks to take care of include:
There are many types of business grants available in Florida, although you should expect cash on offer, qualifying criteria and selection committee objectives to vary considerably. Here’s a selection of the most popular grants available in the Sunshine State:
Not so much a direct grant to your business, the Florida High-Tech Corridor grant is more a way to get the important research and development work you require supplied for free. If you’re a high-tech Florida company in need of skilled R&D services, you may get all the help you need from this program, as it matches your needs with expert faculty and student groups at the University of Central Florida and the University of Southern Florida. Grant funds of up to $150,000 may be provided to your university partners to cover their costs as they work to help your business.
Prospera is an economic development, nonprofit organization specialized in providing bilingual assistance to Hispanic entrepreneurs trying to establish or expand their business. They’ve been helping Hispanic entrepreneurs since 1991 by offering a variety of services especially designed for Hispanic small business owners, to empower them through training, consulting, advancement services, and access to capital.
More: Small business grants for minorities and black women.
SelectFlorida offers a variety of trade grants through the Florida Export Diversification & Expansion program, all with the goal of helping qualified Florida companies start exporting for the first time or diversify into new overseas markets. To be eligible your business must be:
Qualified companies can receive a maximum of three trade grants each year between July 1 and June 30. Award sums vary depending on the grant category you apply for.
The SBDC operates across the State of Florida with more than 40 network offices providing a range of services to Florida-based businesses. As well as giving access to professional consulting services at no cost at all, the SBDC’s Trade Expansion Program provides grant funding to help eligible businesses expand their export activities. Grants can reimburse businesses for export insurance, marketing plan costs and some trade show expenses. The maximum award per business per funding period is $15,000.
If your business is based in Orlando, Florida, this one’s for you. The City of Orlando Business Assistance Program provides matching funds to promote small business development and expansion within the city. Business owners are responsible for 50% of eligible development fees, while the city pays the remaining 50% up to a maximum of $20,000.
Grant funding can be used to cover transportation impact fees, permits and other development fees, as well as improvements such as sidewalk repairs, water line construction, street improvements, landscaping, street lighting, curb improvements and electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
The North Miami CRA aims to bring positive change within their geographic area via improvements to existing business and residential structures. As part of this process, they work with local and state-wide businesses and organizations, providing support through various grants and incentives initiatives, including:
∙ Commercial Grants
∙ Public Private Partnership Developments
∙ Infrastructure Improvements
∙ Residential and Neighborhood Improvement Programs
∙ Affordable, Workforce, Market Rate, Luxury and Mixed Income Housing
∙ Affordable/Workforce Housing Development & Renovation
∙ Transportation and Transit Oriented Developments
Grant awards run from $7,500 up to $150,000 and some programs may require that you provide matching funds. To qualify for a grant your project must entail a building located in the North Miami geographic area, with project demonstrating a key benefit to the local community.
If you can’t find the type of grant you need locally, these national grant programs also provide support for Florida business owners:
Grants.gov is a one-stop shop for businesses and individuals seeking federal grants and the federal agencies that manage the grant funds. Inside the store you’ll find twenty-six federal grant-making agencies and more than 900 grant programs that award more than $400 billion in grants per year.
If you’ve got a tech business or a scientific and engineering venture needing funds, America’s Seed Fund could be your solution. This grant program focuses on technology and scientific products and services that promise high commercial and societal impact. The program awards $200+ million in research and development (R&D) funding to about 400 startups across the United States every year. America’s Seed Fund is a program within the National Science Foundation and housed within the Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships.
Offering a total of $435,000 in awards per year, this is one the most generous grants programs available. The WomensNet Amber Grants awards multiple grants per year, with $10,000 being offered monthly in three separate categories (total of $30,000 per month available). Participants who win a monthly prize also automatically qualify for the draw for an annual $25,000 award – with three prizes available, one for each award category.
You can apply for any of these grants by completing an online application and paying a $15 entrance fee.
Florida entrepreneurs who work for themselves may be eligible for a National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE) business growth grant of up to $4,000. Since 2006, nearly $1 million has been awarded through the program, with grants used for marketing, advertising, hiring employees, expanding facilities and other specific business needs. Note that you must be a member of NASE to apply for a grant. (Membership fees may be applicable).
To help address the needs of America’s smallest businesses, the Small Business Administration (SBA) operates the Program for Investment in Microentrepreneurs (PRIME). The SBA annually awards PRIME grants to pay for training and technical support for microenterprises, or businesses with fewer than five employees and that generally lack access to conventional loans, equity, or other banking services. In 2023, the program provided grants to 32 businesses for a total value of $8 million.
FedEx operate an annual prize competition for small business owners. All you need is a US-based business that’s been in operation for six months plus a FedEx business account that’s also at least six months old. Program participants must produce a presentation that reveals how a grant award could boost their business. Ten winners share a total prize pool of $230,000 – with a $50k first prize and nine x $20k prizes for the runners-up. All ten winners also get free access to a range of FedEx small business services.
Business loans may provide an alternative source of funding for your business or new venture. Also consider looking at Small business loans in Florida.
Online lenders will typically be the best option for this type of financing, but you may pay higher interest rates and fees than you would with traditional banks. Credit checks are standard with most commercial financing, but depending on the type of loan you choose, you may not need to provide collateral:
Term loans are the most common type of commercial loan. You receive a single, lump-sum cash injection and then pay it back in regular installments over a fixed period of up to 25 years. Collateral may be required. Don’t miss out on looking at options of Small business loans in Florida.
A business line of credit is a business loan that functions like a high-value credit card. Borrowers can withdraw as much as they want when they want from a loan facility up to the limit of their borrowing. You only pay interest on the sums you withdraw, not the whole credit line. This can significantly reduce your borrowing costs. Collateral may be required.
Also known as account receivables financing. Borrow against the value of your unpaid invoices. The lender will usually provide up to 95% of the invoice value within a few days or even hours of the bill being raised. Your invoices act as security for the loan, no added collateral required.
Equipment loans use the asset you’re financing as security – no added collateral is required. You use the equipment as you pay for it and the lender maintains a lien on the machinery. Once you pay the loan back, the lender releases the lien, and you own the equipment outright.
Merchant cash advances are designed for businesses that accept customer payments by credit and debit card. You borrow against the value of your card sales. As your card sales increase, your borrowing limit goes up. Pay the loan back with a fixed percentage of your card sales on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. Your sales act as security for the loan, no added collateral is required.
Revenue-based financing functions like a merchant cash advance but with higher borrowing limits. Based on the size and regularity of their total revenues, (not just their credit card sales), businesses may receive a lump sum and pay it back over a short-term schedule, typically by small deductions from their daily sales. This type of loan can usually be secured quickly as qualification rules are less intensive and credit scores are not so critical. No added collateral is required.
Nonprofit and community-based lenders can provide SBA Microloans to business owners who may struggle to secure standard business financing. Available up to $50,000, SBA microloans also come with more relaxed qualifying rules and can usually be secured with FICO scores as low as 500, or even with no credit score at all. Be aware that these type of business loans often require a personal guarantee that makes you personally responsible for the debt.
Working with business finance experts can make all the difference when applying for grant funding. Contact Swoop to discuss your borrowing needs, get help with your application and compare top quality small business grants and business loans from a choice of providers. Give your business the chance it deserves. Register with Swoop today.
Written by
Chris is a freelance copywriter and content creator. He has been active in the marketing, advertising, and publishing industries for more than twenty-five years. Writing for Wells Fargo Bank, Visa, Experian, Ebay, Flywire, insurers and pension funds, his words have appeared online and in print to inform, entertain and explain the complex world of US consumer and business finance.
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