The primary website you want to visit if you are a woman searching for a government grant is grants.gov. Grants.gov is a central storehouse for information on over 1,000 grant programs and has access to approximately $400 billion in annual awards. By registering once on this site, you or your organization can apply for grants from the 26 federal grant-making agencies. It's a wonderful website because you can search and apply right online. Although the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services works hard to make this site user friendly, it is still complex and can be intimidating for a first time applicant. For example: if you are going to register your organization in order to apply for grants you "simply" get a DUNS number (data universal numbering system - basically an id number for your business), a CCR (central contractor registry) registration and an ORC (operational research consultants) registration. It can be very beneficial to get some guidance when applying to grants.gov in order to shorten your application period and help you make sense of all the confusing jargon the federal government enjoys employing. My website (listed at the bottom of this article) has a lot of resources that can help guide you in a situation like this.

Now a word to you women business owners; If you are a woman who controls 51% or more of your business, your business would be classified as a "woman-owned business" and may be eligible for additional grant resources. Before you go after these resources you will need to do the following: do a credit check and make sure you have a good credit report, write out a concise description of your current business or a detailed explanation of your proposed business, and get a third party to certify that you are indeed woman-owned business. The small business administration can do this certification for you, their website is sba.gov.

The small business administration (SBA) website is another place to find government grant opportunities. There is also a specific office of the SBA dedicated to helping women start and run successful businesses - the Office of Women's Business Ownership. This office can help women connect with local women in their city who can provide important business counsel and support for female entrepreneurs. The SBA itself rarely offers grants to start or expand small businesses (though it does offer a wide variety of loan programs). The few grants the SBA offers are generally designed to expand and enhance organizations that provide small business management, technical, or financial assistance. These grants generally support non-profit organizations, intermediary lending institutions, and state and local governments. The SBA website does however, have a section that links viewers to other grant opportunities. Again, it can be helpful to use outside resources (like my website) to help you navigate the grant application process.

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