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Kids That Own Businesses

All Kidpreneurs dream of growing their business idea into a booming company one day. But launching and expanding ventures requires significant upfront funds. For young entrepreneurs, limited resources can stall progress. That’s why grants for Kidpreneurs can be game-changers. Monetary gifts fund business activities and don’t need to be repaid or give up ownership. Grants empower Kidpreneurs to turn their visions into reality.

This article looks at grant programs for youth- and student-led enterprises. Securing free seed money sets budding businesses up for liftoff.

Capitalizing on Local Business Grants

Kidpreneurs can find grants from local community organizations. These organizations want to support young entrepreneurs.

Many chambers of commerce give grants or prizes to students with good business ideas. Opportunities may include:

Student business startup competitions
Kidpreneurs pitch contests
Young Entrepreneur Awards programs
School-district entrepreneurship initiative grants

Awards often range from $500 – $2000 to help launch a venture. Some are open to any student business idea. Others target specific industries like tech or sustainability.

Connecting with the local chamber is a must. It’s a great way to find competitions in your Kidpreneurs community. With a polished pitch, they have a strong shot at winning funds to jumpstart their dreams.

National Business Plan Tournament Grants

You can also join business plan tournaments hosted by groups such as FBLA.

In FBLA’s virtual Business Plan Competition, Kidpreneurs submit 5-page plans online. These plans are then evaluated by judges. Winners at state and national levels receive up to $500 for seed funding.

Collegiate DECA, SIFE, YEA, and Junior Achievement also have national business planning contests. These competitions connect Kidpreneurs with mentorship while competing for grants.

Writing a solid business plan prepares Kidpreneurs to seek investors or loans later. And winning grants validates their ideas and abilities.

Finding Grants in Business Publications

Kidpreneurs should also explore grant listings in key business publications and databases. For example:

The Grants Register is a reference guide that lists thousands of grants every year. It covers all fields and is published by Palgrave Macmillan. The index helps identify funders relevant to student entrepreneurs.

GrantStation – This searchable database includes global grants, many for business owners. Kidpreneurs can create custom searches for youth funding sources.

You can use Grants.gov to find programs for students and teens by filtering for eligibility.

Funding research takes persistence but pays off. Publications like these connect Kidpreneurs to specialized grants beyond just their local community.

Leveraging School and Nonprofit Grants for Kidpreneurs

Education-focused grants offer another way to fund Kidpreneurs ventures. Opportunities include:

To fund your high school business club, talk to a teacher advisor. They can help you apply for grants from the school or district. These grants will support expenses for your DECA, FBLA, or other club chapter.

College student business grants. See if local colleges offer small grants for teen entrepreneurs. Some may also offer high school partnership programs.
Nonprofit youth entrepreneur grants. Organizations like NFTE and VentureWell award funding to support Kidpreneurs. Browse nonprofits supporting youth business leaders in your region or nationwide.
Student competitions. Enter contests, like the NFTE Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge. This grant awards up to $10k in startup funding.

Securing any size grant adds momentum. Colleges like students who start businesses in high school and give them money.

Understanding Federal SBA Grants for Kidpreneurs

For U.S. Kidpreneurs, federal small business grants should be on your radar. While limited, programs through the Small Business Administration (SBA) can be game-changers.

The SBA gives entrepreneurs money for making innovative products. They give over $3.5 billion every year. Young inventors and tech Kidpreneurs may qualify.

The SBA helps fund initiatives for underserved entrepreneurs, including women, veterans, and minorities. We’ll explore this more soon.

Startups can receive up to $1 million in funding from competitive federal grants. Kidpreneurs should understand these options to pursue down the road.

Researching Student Loan or Microloan Options

Beyond straight grants, some Kidpreneurs fund enterprises by borrowing money at favorable terms. Federal student loans open up more possibilities:

Federal Direct Stafford Loan. High school seniors could use a part of this up to $5,500 annual student loan toward business.
Career & Technical Education Loans. Students in career tech programs like business academies can borrow up to $4,000.

Also, SBA microloans up to $50,000 may work for teen ventures. While repaying loans takes discipline, borrowing strategically is safer than high-interest private financing.

Having awareness of smart debt options helps Kidpreneurs weigh pros and cons. It is smart to get funding to build value, even if you have to pay it back later.

Chasing Grants for Women-Owned Kidpreneurs Ventures

Grants can help girls and young women overcome gender issues to get business funding.

Great options include:

Cartier Women’s Initiative. Awards $100k grants to female entrepreneurs under 40 improving the world.
Tory Burch Foundation. Offers $50k fellowships to women entrepreneurs through their Embrace Ambition program.
FedEx We Are Small Business Grant. Provides grants up to $50k to women-owned small businesses.
Eileen Fisher Female Founders Grant. Gifts $10k to $100k to innovative women-led ventures.
The Amber Grant. Monthly $1,000 grants awarded to women starting any type of business.

Programs like these, aim to level the playing field. Female Kidpreneurs should absolutely leverage them for a boost over male peers.

Seeking Out Grants for Minority Kidpreneurs

Like women, minority Kidpreneurs can also target special funding programs:

Black Ambition Prize. HBCU initiative awarding $50k, $100k or grand prize of $250k to Black entrepreneurs.
NewMe Accelerator – Black & Latinx founders receive funding, mentorship & resources.
Indian Land Tenure Foundation. Grants supporting Native American youth business ventures and cultural entrepreneurship.
Stanford Latino Entrepreneurship Initiative . Supports Latino innovators including youth creators through education, network, and funding.
L’Oreal For Women in Science grant. Awards funding to underrepresented young women in STEM interested in commercializing research.

Thankfully, opportunities are expanding for diverse Kidpreneurs long underfunded. Tailoring grant pursuits unlocks deals other peers may miss.

Staying Persistent to Uncover the Right Grants for Kidpreneurs

Finding and winning grants requires hustle. Kidpreneurs must commit to an organized approach:

Set regular time to research grant possibilities in your niche. Follow funders on social media for alerts.
Bookmark interesting prospects on a master list to track deadlines. Apply annually if programs recur.
Share your venture and funding needs with friends, parents’ coworkers, teachers, and mentors. Ask them to keep an ear out for leads.
Pitch grant evaluators your idea, experience, and passion. Follow up. Build relationships over time.
Don’t get discouraged by rejections – re-apply and improve your proposals. Timing and luck matter too.

Dedicated Kidpreneurs don’t leave finding grants to chance. They proactively hunt opportunities through research, networking, and persistence. Over time, they’ll win funds to make their enterprise thrive.

Parents Can Provide Crucial Support to Find Grants for Kidpreneurs

Kidpreneurs should lead grant applications, but parents also play a key role.

Help research appropriate grants checking age requirements and submission guidelines.
Assist polishing proposals and business plans to put their best foot forward.
Explain grant budgets and projections to make sure funding requests are valid.
Help prep for grant pitch contests to highlight their idea’s impact and potential.
Provide guidance interpreting grant agreements and using funds properly if won.
Ensure all reporting requirements are fulfilled to the grantor if chosen.
Transport Kidpreneurs to local pitch competitions and programs when possible.
Make introductions to increase the network of funders aware of their child’s venture.

Constant cheerleading from parents bolsters morale during the demanding grant chase. Your support smooths out the ride.

Grants for Kidpreneurs: Winning Free Cash to Fund Dreams

Raising startup funds stands as one of the toughest hurdles for any new entrepreneur. Grants help cover startup costs, so you don’t have to use your own money or take on too much debt.

To increase their chances of success, Kidpreneurs should apply to many grants. This will help them make their dreams come true. Even small boosts provide confidence.

Make sure your child’s business can get funding from grants in the community and beyond. Then watch them fly high knowing someone invested in their potential success. Dreams funded today become thriving enterprises tomorrow.

Grants.gov Youth Funding Opportunity Grants

Grants.gov Youth Funding Opportunity Grants

Youth serving opportunities and partnerships at the state and local level tell us that using Grants.gov to find funding opportunities to serve youth and their families is a challenge. youth.gov is happy to announce the launch of the new tool that helps to solve this problem by allowing users to search for grants for programs that specifically serve youth and their families. This search tool taps into the Grants.gov database and allows users to customize their search results by applying keywords and filters for youth-related topics (such as bullying, mental health, and substance abuse) and grant-providing agencies.

The Grants.gov Youth Funding Opportunity Search Tool helps you find open solicitations across more than 12 federal funding departments, for about 300 programs that specifically support youth and their families. The tool simplifies the search for youth-related grants available on Grants.gov and requires users to take fewer steps to find youth-related grants than when searching the Grants.gov database directly.

All of the grants available through this tool are sorted into 25+ youth-related topics:

Afterschool Programs
Bullying Prevention
Children of Incarcerated
Civic Engagement
Disabilities
Education
Employment & Training
Family & Community Engagement
Financial Literacy
Gang Prevention
Health & Nutrition
Juvenile Justice
LGBTQ
Mental Health
Mentoring
Native Youth
Positive Youth Development
Reconnecting Youth
Runaway & Homeless Youth
School Climate
Service-Learning
Substance Abuse Prevention
Teen Dating Violence Prevention
Teen Driver Safety
Teen Pregnancy Prevention
Trafficking of Youth
Transition-Age Youth
Violence Prevention & Victimization
Youth Preparedness
Youth Suicide Prevention

This allows for broad searches for youth-related programs. Only open opportunities are listed, and the list of searchable grant opportunities is updated daily. Upon searching for and identifying a grant of interest, a user is directed to information about specific relevant grants on the Grants.gov website, where he or she can view the grant’s synopsis, full announcement, and application.

youth.gov is also offering a badge for the tool for website managers to post on their sites to lead visitors to the search tool.

Grants.gov contains information about more than 1,000 grant programs offered by all federal grant-making agencies, and serves as a vehicle for citizens to search and apply for federal government grants.

Resources:

For additional funding assistance and services, please visit:
youth.gov Funding Information Center