Government business grants: What support is available for your business?
Are you searching for government business grants and wondering what support is available for your business?
Securing a business grant can do wonders for your business, especially if you’re a start-up or SME. If you need support when applying, keep reading this blog to find out more!
What are government business grants?
There are many different government grants available to UK businesses, especially start-ups and SMEs. Funding opportunities can differ depending on location, the sector and the funder’s objectives. For example, many funders have certain aims and ideas that they want to achieve with their grant. This could include innovative solutions, new technology or creating more job opportunities.
What are the different types of government business grants?
There are many different types of grants available, from small business grants to charity funding. Here are some examples of the types grants available for your business:
Direct grants
Direct grants are usually given to SMEs and start-ups to cover any essential costs. This includes training, new equipment, research and funding for new projects.
With most direct grants, the recipient is required to match the value of the grant. For example, if the funder awards you £1,000, you’ll need to provide £1,000 of your own money. Therefore, it’s important to keep this in mind if you’re considering applying for a direct grant.
Equity finance
If you’re looking for other types of government business grants, you might be interested in equity finance. This is where you sell a share of your business in return for funding.
An example of this type of scheme is the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme. With this scheme, businesses are offered up to a 50% reduction in income tax. To be eligible, businesses must be less than two years old and with fewer than 25 employees.
Soft loans
Another option for funding is a soft loan. Generally, soft loans are directed at SMEs and start-up businesses. They differ from regular loans, and usually have lower interest rates and flexible payment plans. This allows new businesses to make affordable payments.
Where can you find government grants for your business?
Are you ready to apply for a government business grant but don’t know where to find them? That’s where we come in!
By signing up to our Grant Tracker Service, you’ll have access to funding opportunities from over 1,500 data points. All you have to do to gain access is sign up for free.
Tips for applying for government business grants
So, now you know the types of government business grants that are available for your business. How can you increase your chances of success when applying?
Here are our top 5 tips for securing a government grant for your business:
-
Find suitable government business grants for you
Before you do anything, you need to find suitable funding opportunities for your business. To ensure that the opportunity is right for you, you could ask yourself the following questions:
- Do the funder’s aims and objectives align with that of your business?
- Are you actually eligible for the funding opportunity?
- Do they offer the amount of funding that you require?
Not only should you assess whether the opportunity is right for you, but there are other factors to consider too. For example:
- Applying for government business grants can be incredibly time-consuming. Do you have time to complete and submit the application before the allotted deadline?
- Do you have a backup plan? Grants are extremely competitive, so it’s important to consider your other options in case the funding is awarded elsewhere.
- Does the grant or funding opportunity cover all of your costs? For example, you might be expected to match the amount with your own money. Are you in a position to do that?
-
Start applying early
To increase your chances of securing government business grants, you should start applying as early as possible. You’re more likely to secure the grant if you apply when the opportunity first launches. This is because there is more money available in the earlier stages. As more businesses apply for the funding, the amount of money available will decrease. So, you’ll be faced with less competition if you submit your application early.
-
Read the grant documents – thoroughly
Before you start the application process, you need to thoroughly read all of the grant documents. Even if there are 50 pages to read, you must digest all of the available information.
Without reading the grant documents, you run the risk of missing important details that could impact your chances of success. For example, there could be certain prerequisites that you need in order to be eligible for government business grants. Or the government might have certain aims or objectives that they want to achieve with the grant at hand. Failing to read the grant documents could mean you’re submitting a funding application with crucial elements missing. If that’s the case, you’ll never secure a government grant for your business.
-
Talk to the grant awarding body
Before applying for government business grants, it can be helpful to talk to the grant awarding body first. This will give you the opportunity to raise any questions you might have after reading the grant documents.
However, it’s important to make sure that the questions aren’t answered in the specification. The funder will assume that you haven’t taken the time to read it, which will reflect badly on your business.
-
Make sure you have an effective business plan
Another thing to remember when you apply for government business grants is to ensure you produce an effective business plan. By doing this, the funder will be able to assess your business and how you plan on spending the money.
It’s important to tailor your business plan to each opportunity that you apply for. However, as a general rule, it should include:
- Your mission statement
- Products and services
- Information about your company
- Your employees
- Financial information
- Growth plans
- Your USP(s)
- Target audience
- Achievable milestones.
What if you’re rejected?
As we’ve already established, government business grants are highly competitive. So, with every grant that you apply for, there’s always a chance that you’ll be rejected. The important thing is to not let it hold you back from applying for future funding opportunities.
If you’re rejected, it’s always a good idea to ask the funder for feedback. Finding out where you went wrong will help you avoid making the same mistakes in future applications.
Conclusion
So, now you have a complete guide to government business grants. If you’re still unsure, let’s recap!
There are different types of business grants available, including direct grants, equity finance and soft loans. They are all great options for SMEs and start-ups that are looking to get their business started.
Once you’ve decided on a funding opportunity for your business, remember our tips for applying. You need to ensure that the grant is right for you. Don’t waste time and resources on a funding application if you have no chance of winning. Then you need to start applying for funding early – you’ll have less competition in the earlier stages!
It’s also important that you carefully and thoroughly read every page of the grant documents. You need to digest all the information available to ensure your proposal meets the funder’s expectations. To do this, you could also talk to the grant awarding body. They’ll be able to answer any questions you might have before you proceed with the application.
Finally, make sure you have an effective business plan to submit with your application. This helps the funder assess your business and evaluate how you plan on spending the money on offer.
Our Services
Grant Writing
Our Grant Writing Service is for businesses who want to start applying for grants, but don’t know where to begin. They can also help businesses who have been applying for grants but aren’t seeing success.
Our Grant Writing Consultants have over 60 years of experience in bidding for funding and grants. From start-up business grants to self-employed business grants. They can take care of the whole thing for you – they’ll even submit it on your behalf.
Get in touch to find out how we can help your business grow!
Grant Tracker
You can find this grant and others like it on our Business Grant Tracker. Currently, we have over 1,700 live business grant and funding opportunities. Our team have manually tracked 1,500+ data streams searching for business grant opportunities. Each one is then uploaded to one central system, streamlining the process.
All you need to do to gain access is sign up for free.
