Business Grant

With the continuing expansion of US government spending over the last couple of years, it is easy to see why more and more companies are looking to obtain a business grant.  Unfortunately, for every company that is awarded a grant, there are numerous companies that are forced to go back to the drawing board.  Writing an effective business grant application is a requirement to winning a contract.  Here are some tips to help get your efforts moving in the right direction.

Understand what the government wants.  Get the bid package as soon as possible.  The more time you have to review all the background information the better prepared you will be for the question and answer window when it opens.  Formulating your questions in such a way that gets your company all the information you will need to adequately respond to the request for proposal (also known as the RFP).

 Know your company’s strengths and weaknesses.  All too often, companies apply for business grants in areas that they have no experience or domain knowledge, expecting to make the cut.  More often than not, your company will be cut in the first round of the application process.  If you are going to apply, make sure you focus on a couple of projects where you really know what needs to be done, how to do it and what it will cost your company to do it.

Answer all the questions.  Companies have been disqualified from the bidding process numerous times because they failed to answer all the questions in the RFP.  Even if a question is not relevant, make sure you type “not relevant” in your response.  Otherwise, your application may be viewed as incomplete.

Be prepared to manage the win.  If your company is fortunate enough to win the contract or grant, make sure you are in a position to effectively manage it.  This is more than ensuring you have adequate staff and the right skilled staff available.  It is also about managing the cash flows associated with the project.  Often with government projects, payment may come in increments or not until sometime after the project is completed.  That means you could be in a position where winning the project kills your company, because you’re going to run out of cash before the project is complete.

In summary, getting a business grant is a realistic possibility for companies.  You just need to focus your grant application efforts, plan for success and be thorough with your bid.