Minority-owned businesses could use a break this year, and new rounds of small business grants targeting businesses owned by people of color are welcome news. Did you know that minorities own nearly one-in-five small businesses in the US, yet data shows that those businesses continuously feel more of the brunt of the current economic challenges and the continued fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, according to data compiled by Small Business Majority? Add to that the fact that many have a more difficult time getting financing from traditional banks, and it’s easy to see why relief is needed.

Private Sector Grants for Minority-Owned Businesses

The good news is that free money is available to minority-owned businesses this year through several national grant programs in the private sector. Finding the right grants for your business and knowing how to apply for them can be a challenge, however, so Kapitus has compiled a list of national grant programs to try and make it as easy as possible to find the grants that are suitable for your small business.

1. Main Street America’s Backing Small Businesses Grant Program

Main Street America and American Express are once again awarding grants to minority-owned small businesses. The program will award 350 $5,000 grants by the end of the year.

Key Information:

Award Amounts: The program will award $5,000 grants each to 350 small business owners, plus $25,000 in enhancement grants will be awarded to 25 winners based on their stories.

Deadline: April 7, 2023

Where to Apply: Click here for information about the program as well as an application form.

Requirements: The grant is available to minority and women-owned small businesses, as well as veteran-owned small businesses and businesses owned by people disabilities. Applicants must have a brick-and-mortar location and employ 20 or fewer full-time employees.

Application Difficulty Level: Easy

2. Coalition to Back Black Businesses Grant Program

The Coalition is composed of both corporate sponsors and industry trade groups including American Express, Shopify and the National Black Chamber of Commerce.

Key Information:

Award Amounts: The Coalition will award $5,000 grants to several black-owned businesses, with a select few receiving $25,000.

Launch Date: Early autumn, 2024

Deadline: TBA

Where to Apply: Keep checking the Coalition’s website for updated information.

Requirements: Must be a black-owned business that employs 3-20 workers, and operate in an underserved area identified by the Distressed Communities Index.

Application Difficulty Level: Easy.

Minority-Owned Business Grants Coming in 2024

3. Southern Restaurants for Racial Justice (SRRJ)

This grant is a combined effort by the Lee Initiative, Heinz and SRRJ to provide grants to African American-owned restaurants south of the Mason Dixon line. Originally created in 2021 to help minority-owned restaurants in the Southeast get through the COVID-19 pandemic, it has become an annual grant program.

Key Information:

Award Amounts: TBA. In 2022, $20,000 grants were awarded to 60 restaurants in the South.

Launch Date: TBA. Last year’s program began in mid-summer.

Deadline: TBA

Where to Apply: Keep checking SRRJ’s website for updates on the 2023 program.

Requirements: This program is offered to black-owned businesses in the food industry operating in the South, defined by any state below Maryland, Pennsylvania and Ohio.

Application Difficulty Level: Easy

4. Lenovo Evolve Small Initiative

Every year since 2021, Lenovo has given away roughly $1,000,000 in grants and small business consultancy services to women- and minority-owned businesses in both the US and Canada. In 2022, Lenovo partnered with actor and musician Queen Latifah, as well as Microsoft and AMD to administer the program. As part of the grant contest, 10 small businesses each won $5,000 in grants to help their businesses. The program typically kicks off in October.

Key Information:

Award Amounts: TBA. Last year, 10 winners each received $5,000 while many more were awarded free consulting services and technology upgrades.

Launch Date: TBA

Deadline: TBA

Where to Apply: Keep checking the Lenovo Evolve Small website for updated information. New information should be released towards the end of the summer, 2023.

Requirements: Must be a woman- or minority-owned for-profit small business operating in the US or Canada.

Application Level of Difficulty: Easy

5. Comcast Rise

Comcast awards hundreds of minority-owned small businesses hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic with monetary grants as well as free business consultations. Last November, it awarded 500 small businesses with $10,000 each, as well as free business consulting, media, and creative production services. The 2023 phase of the grants program is expected to launch in the third quarter of 2023, so keep your eyes peeled for an announcement.

Key Information:

Award Amounts: TBA. The company awarded $10,000 grants each to 500 minority-owned small businesses in 2022.

Launch Date: TBA. Last year’s grant competition was kicked off at the beginning of autumn.

Deadline: TBA

Where to Apply: Check the Comcast Rise website during the summer for an announcement.

Requirements: Must be at least 51% owned by a minority, including Latinx, African American, Asian American, Pacific Islander, or other people of color.

Application Difficulty Level: Easy

6. The Boss Network and Sage’s Invest in Progress Grant

This grant program is administered by business consultancy Hello Alice and is offered to African American women entrepreneurs.

Key Information:

Award Amount: This grant program provides $10,000 each to 25 African American women entrepreneurs, plus one-year free membership in Boss Business University.

Launch Date: January 3rd, 2023

Deadline: February 24, 2023, at 6:00pm EST.

Where to Apply: Applications can be found on Hello Alice’s Website.

Requirements: Must be an African American woman entrepreneur, have a demonstrated need for funds and willing to participate in Boss Business University’s mentorship program. Winners will be chosen based on their stories and how they plan to use the funds if they win.

Application Difficulty Level: Easy.

Government Grant Programs for Minority-Owned Businesses

The federal government does not administer to or fund individual grants, rather, there are federal agencies that fund grant programs that are administered by state and local governments, individual municipalities, or other local government departments. That said, applying for government grants can be a time-consuming and convoluted process.

Still, free money is free money, so if you’re willing to put some time into doing research and the paperwork involved, this government grant program and other federal resources may be worth checking out:

7. The Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) Grant Program

The MBDA is a federal agency that funds grants of all sizes to minority-owned small businesses. The grants are administered by MBDA’s business centers in various states. Interested business owners can apply for the grant by visiting www.grants.gov. Obtaining a MBDA grant involves extensive paperwork and registering your business with the MBDA.

For more information on the MBDA’s grant program, click here.

Where to Find Government Grants for Minority-Owned Businesses

There are several websites dedicated to helping you find the best government grants for your business and guide you through the application process. These sites also help in applying for government grants for minority-owned small businesses.

Grants.gov

This website provides a searchable database for government grants and information on how to access federal grants for minority-owned businesses.

USA Grants

This website will guide you to available state grants in specific categories, such as women- and minority-owned businesses, and is a bit more user friendly than grants.gov.

Candid Learning

This website offers state-by-state directories of departments that offer federally funded state grants for minority-owned businesses.

Minority-Owned Business Grant Alternatives

Grants generally are tough to win, so if you’re relying on grant funding to add to your cash flow and don’t win, don’t worry – there are other ways to get the funding that you need to keep your business running smoothly or to expand:

CDC/504 Loans

These loans are backed by the US Small Business Administration and are administered by community development corporations across the country. They are given to small businesses seeking to purchase new equipment, renovate their store front, make new hires or contribute to the economic development of their community in some way. The good thing about these loans is that the requirements for getting them are not as stringent as SBA 7(a) loans.

SBA Microloan Program

The SBA funds small business loans of up to $50,000 to any small business seeking to improve or enhance their businesses. The loans can be obtained through non-profit intermediaries throughout the country and, like the CDC/504 loan program, carry far less rigid lending requirements than most traditional loans.

Alternative Small Business Lenders

Alternative lenders are non-traditional lending institutions that offer most of the that traditional banks do but with less paperwork and often less rigid requirements and. Alternative lenders also can provide a quicker turnaround time in terms of when you receive funds after you’ve been approved.

Tips When Applying to Small Business Grants for Minorities

Grants for minority-owned small businesses are not easy to win, as you’re going to have to compete with many other applicants and go through a lot of paperwork to qualify. To give yourself a leg up, you probably want to make sure you are prepared to compete for a grant by taking a few steps beforehand so that you can compete in multiple competitions.

#1 Think about what makes your business unique. Be prepared to tell the story of your business and answer questions such as, what passions led you to start your own business? What needs do you fulfill for your customers? How do you contribute to your community in terms of giving back or enhancing the community in which your business resides? Having these answers ready when you apply for a minority-owned small business grant will give you an edge.

#2 Recall challenges you had to overcome to run your business. If you’re applying for a minority-owned small business grant, be prepared to demonstrate how you overcame the challenge of being a minority and starting your own business. Did you have to face any social biases? Were there barriers in your community that you had to face in terms of your ethnicity, religion, etc.?

#3 Be prepared to get creative. Most grant competitions want responses to their questions either in writing or in video, so be prepared. If creative essay writing is not your strong suit, you may want to hire a freelancer to write your answers. For videos, follow these tips to make sure you submit a high quality, lively video to give yourself the advantage.

MORE >> Tips on Making the Perfect Video for Your Small Business

Grants for Minority-Owned Businesses FAQs

Applying for grants can be a tricky business. Here are some of the most common questions applicants for minority-owned small business grants have.

Do I qualify for a minority-owned small business grant?

Many grant competitions use the SBA’s definition of a minority-owned business as a qualifier, while some grant competitions have other requirements such as a limited amount of annual revenue or a certain number of employees. Read the rules of each grant competition carefully.

Can I compete in other grant competitions?

Of course. You can compete in as many grant competitions as you like, including ones that are for small businesses in general. Participating in a grant competition for minority-owned small businesses would not preclude you from other grant competitions.

Can I get a grant if my business is new?

Getting funding for a startup business often isn’t easy. There are some private and government-based grant competitions that do offer programs for entrepreneurs, so it’s imperative that you do your research.

When you need liquid funds to meet the needs of a large customer purchase, purchase order financing can be an incredibly valuable tool. With purchase order financing, a lender will pay your suppliers to complete an order, and the supplier will then in turn pay you for the transaction minus a factoring fee and other costs. In short, this type of financing can ensure that your customers get the merchandise they are purchasing and that you get the profits from that purchase.

While purchase order financing can be a valuable method of making sure your transactions go smoothly, obtaining this type of financing does come with requirements. So if you’ve decided that purchase order financing is right for you, it’s important to go over a checklist of requirements before applying. 

Purchase Order Financing Requirments

Before you apply for purchase order financing ensure you meet the below requirements are able to provide the documentation associated with them.

Requirement #1 – You Must be a B2B or BTG Entity

In order to qualify for purchase order financing, you must be a business-to-business or a business-to-government agency. This simply means that you must be doing business with either another business, such as a supplier, or with a local, state or government agency through a government or municipal contract. 

Requirement #2 – You Must Sell a Tangible Product

The first requirement is that you must sell a product that can be touched and seen. This sounds obvious, of course, but what this really means is that purchase order financing cannot be applied to the sales of services, such as accounting services or medical treatments, it can only be applied to physical goods. 

Requirement #3 – You Must Meet a Minimum Purchase Order Amount

Lenders offering purchase order financing charge a factoring fee based on the amount of the transaction, so they all require a minimum purchase order amount to make the transaction worth their while. The minimum amount of the transaction varies from provider to provider, with some financing companies requiring a minimum of $50,000 while others requiring a minimum amount of up to $200,000. Therefore, you should make sure the amount you need to fulfill your order is at least $50,000 just to be able to find a purchase order financing provider. 

Requirement #4 – Your Suppliers & Customers Must Meet Minimum Credit Scores

In a purchase order financing agreement, financing companies are paying your suppliers directly then depending on them to deliver the goods or products. From there, your customers actually pay the purchase order financing company. Therefore, they will be checking the creditworthiness and reputation of your suppliers and customers before approving the transaction. The best way to meet this requirement on your end is to make sure you are doing business with reputable suppliers and accepting purchase orders from customers with good credit ratings. 

This should be simple enough if the transaction involves a single supplier and one customer, but if it involves multiple suppliers, you should check with them early. You can request a credit check from them or check their business credit through Dun & Bradstreet.

Requirement #5 – You Must Meet Minimum Profit Margin Requirements

In order to approve you for purchase order financing, the lender will want to know if you can afford the fees. The best way for them to do this is to set a minimum profit margin for the transaction. Typically, the minimum profit margin ranges between 10% to 20% depending on the lender. 

Requirement #6 – You Must Have a Minimum Time in Business

With most small business financing, you’ll need to have some time in business in order to qualify for purchase order financing. More specifically, however, is that you need to have engaged in the specified transaction with your suppliers before in order to qualify. 

Requirement #7 – Your Financial Statements

You will also need to provide your company’s financial statements such as bank statements and other balance sheet information. More importantly, however, you will also need to provide information on any contracts you have with your suppliers and clients/customers. 

Start Your Application Early

If you decide purchase order financing is right for you, you should start the application process early, as funding can take longer than with other types of financing such as a online working capital loans or revenue-based financing because more parties are involved in the transaction. 

Everyone knows the common sales phrase, “consumers buy what they see.” This means that consumers are more likely to purchase what is visually appealing, be it from a small business with an appealing storefront, a clean and well-organized business space, a modern restaurant dining room, an attractive website, or even the way your products are displayed.

However, when time wears down your business’ storefront, or you want to change the inside of your establishment or website to reflect a new product or change to your brand, renovations can be expensive and severely cut into your cash flow. Fortunately, small business owners have several renovation financing options to choose from to renovate to give your business the makeover it needs. Financing can give you the funds that you need upfront without being a drag on your working capital.

Business Renovation Financing Options

Specific types of financing are best for specific renovations and situations. If you own the building your business is housed in and your roof is 25 years old and needs replacing, for example, that may require a different type of financing than, let’s say, purchasing new equipment. Here is a list of the different types of financing you can apply for to spruce up your business.

SBA CDC/504 loan

The SBA 504 loan is an ideal option for renovating your business’ physical space or buying new equipment. Specifically, the 504 loans are meant for upgrades of major fixed assets and long-term equipment that will promote business growth and job creation in the community. It is most often used by small businesses operating in underserved communities and can be obtained through a list of SBA-approved community development corporations (CDCs).

While the rates and requirements are usually lower than a loan from traditional and alternative lenders, the average borrowing amount is typically smaller – the average loan amount is slightly under $1 million, even though loan amounts can go up to $5 million. Additionally, your net revenue must be $5 million or less after federal income taxes for the two years before you submit an application. For more information, check out the SBA’s 504 loan website.

Equipment Financing Loan

An equipment financing loan is a specialized loan in which a financing company provides you with the funds to purchase a specific piece of equipment vital to your business that will be paid back with a fixed interest rate. This type of financing is offered by both traditional banks and alternative lenders. If you’re seeking to modernize your business with new, revenue-generating equipment, this could be an ideal option.

SBA 7(a) Loan

The SBA 7(a) loan is a term loan and because the loan is partially guaranteed by the SBA, it typically offers the best rates. The loan amount can be up to $5 million and can be used for a variety of reasons, including business renovations and purchasing new equipment. It is only offered through SBA-approved lenders, and the interest rate on the loan is typically pegged to the yield of the 10-year US Treasury bond, making it one of the cheapest borrowing options for small businesses in terms of cost of capital.

The 7(a) loan, however, is one of the most difficult loans to obtain, as the requirements for obtaining one are the toughest. Applicants must have high business and personal credit scores, a detailed business plan, and a profitable business, among several other requirements. If you are approved, the funding time could take weeks. 

A Business Line of Credit

A business line of credit is an extremely versatile financing tool that gives your business a revolving credit line that can be used for any business purpose, including renovating your business. Lines of credit are offered by both traditional and alternative lenders, and you will only be charged interest on the amount you borrow. The interest rate on a line of credit is typically lower than what you’d be charged for a business credit card, and it provides you with cash to make purchases.

To qualify for a line of credit, you typically need a good FICO score (650-675) as well as a solid business credit score (65 or higher). The repayment terms on a line of credit can be tricky, however. Many line of credit providers require that it be repaid in full on a monthly or annual basis, and depending on the providor, you may be charged balloon payments and other processing fees. It is important to work out the terms of a line of credit before you take one on.

Term Loan

A term loan, also known, simply, as a business loan, is a lump sum of cash that a bank or alternative lender will provide that will be paid back with interest over the course of months or years. This type of financing can provide distinct advantages if you are looking to spruce up your business by renovating your storefront, modernizing your dining room or revamping your office or store space. A term loan usually offers a cheaper interest rate compared to equipment financing or a line of credit, and the repayment terms are at fixed intervals.

Much like with the SBA 7(a) loan, however, this type of loan is usually slightly more difficult to obtain than a line of credit, 504 loan or equipment financing. A term loan typically requires at least 2 years in business and strong credit rating and cash flow statements. Traditional banks often require a strong business plan to get approved, while alternative lenders do not.

Working Capital Loan

Working capital loans are short-term loans that often must be paid back in under a year and can be obtained only by alternative lenders. This loan provides short-term funds that can be used for immediate renovations such as fixing a leaky roof or replacing old furniture or equipment in your office or store interior. This type of loan usually has looser requirements than a traditional term or 7(a) loan. However, it is also the most expensive type of loan, as interest rates on this type of loan can be as high as 25% because approvals are usually based on less strict requirements.  

Carefully Review Your Options

If your business is in desperate need of renovations, it’s best to carefully assess your needs and estimate the cost of whatever renovations you are seeking. Carefully choose which type of financing would be best for your business based on those needs, your creditworthiness and what you are willing to pay in terms of cost of capital. If you carefully choose, the financing you receive should propel your business into the future.