“But wait,” you may be thinking. “I’m not a nonprofit -- I can’t get a grant.” Well, as it turns out, nonprofits aren’t the only organizations eligible for government grants. For example, from 2010 to 2014, for-profit company Canopy Apps received $2 million in National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants to develop translation technology for medical professionals working with patients who don’t speak English.
Jerrit Tan, former CEO of New York City-based Canopy, believes more entrepreneurs should take advantage of the billions of dollars in business grants offered by government agencies, which can buy a startup valuable R&D time and boost credibility.
“You’re literally turning stacks of paper [grant applications] into money for your business,” Tan says. “And the government usually doesn’t take equity.”
Of course, nabbing local, state and federal grants involves more than cutting and pasting your business plan into an application. Here’s what you should consider:
