Obama Business Grants

Taking a leaf out of the Keynesian economics, which calls for more government and public spending to stabilize the economy, the Obama government came out with a stimulus package. The US congress signed a 787 billion dollar relief package to give a new impetus to the economy. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) earmarked 275 billion dollars for grants, loans and contracts.

Federal business grants are mostly given to state governments, non-profit organizations (NPOs) and businesses working towards the benefit of the community. It is a common misconception that the government grants are for individuals who are looking to start new profit-making ventures. These government grants will help create new employment opportunities and work towards community development projects. The funds made available through these will play a part in the national debt relief program.

Government Grants for Business

The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistant (CFDA) website has details about the government grants and the application procedure. You can also track the status of your grant application online on the government grants website. The US Small Business Administration (SBA) gives out government contracts to help small businesses across America. The US government has also established the Office of Departmental Grants Management and Oversight (ODGMO) which streamlines the grant processes.

Non-profit organizations working towards community development projects can apply for government grants. Some of the projects that get grants are child day care centers which allow working women to leave their children in expert care. President Obama is seeking 50 million dollars from the US congress as seed capital for non-profit organizations to expand some of the rewarding social innovation projects.

Recognizing the need to empower women entrepreneurs, grants are helping women owned small businesses get government contracts. The SBA website has details about government contracts for Women Owned Small Businesses (WOSBs) and Economically Disadvantaged Women Owned Small Businesses (EDWOSBs). Obama grants for small business have helped many entrepreneurs across America.

Under the Obama business grants program, the government has set aside 2 billion dollars to stabilize neighborhoods. The US Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will run the neighborhood stabilization program (NSP). The NSP will give grants to property developers committed towards rebuilding communities, by acquiring land and property to be redeveloped. The HUD also gives home improvement grants to people from low income groups to improve their living conditions.

One of the areas that the government is concentrating on are organizations working towards energy efficiency solutions. The administration has set aside 2.4 billion dollars as part of the small business financing for manufacturers of electric vehicles, batteries and components in America. Large vehicle manufacturers like Ford, GM, etc., will also receive government grants to manufacture electric vehicles. This way the government also hopes to generate thousands of new jobs as part of the debt relief grants.

The government is spending large sums of money to help develop the rural community by giving grants for projects like broadband connectivity. The project will help local farmers attract new business and compete in the global market place. The government has set aside 61 million dollars in grant money for projects like rural microentrepreneur assistance program, value added producer grants, grants for minority producers.

Obama business grants will also benefit infrastructure contractors under the ARRA nearly 30 billion dollars to improve infrastructure in the communities. These grants have helped create jobs and improve customer spending which in turn is expected to play a part in the economic revival.