Grants & Lending Opportunities
Financing, liquidity, and fundraising can be difficult tasks to navigate. For-profit or nonprofit, many organizations including local government work with end up working with grant writers, project administrators, and lending partners to strategically pursue financial planning for new and ongoing business developments. As part of the grants and lending programs offered through Twin Cities Development in addition to our business services, TCD also employs its own in-house Funding Consultant to assist with funding strategies, grant writing, administration and compliance, notarizations, etc.
Featured Funding Opportunities
Grants & Lending
Q: Why don’t we see grant funding all the time?
A: Besides the obviously competitive nature of obtaining grants, grants often come with terms and conditions on the award. For example, Federal and other government-based grants often come with semi-annual reporting requirements to ensure funds are being used for the correct things, while others may have limited or no reporting but are required to complete a particular achievement or goal using the funds. Sometimes the award requirements end up being too much for organizations to manage on their own. These limitations, coupled with the arduous time and effort to apply, make grant funding challenging to streamline. That’s where organizations like TCD come in to aid in the process, continually making grant and lending options much more available and manageable to the community.
Q: How do I learn what grants I can get?
A: One of the most challenging parts of grant research is eligibility. Every grantor has their own purpose and conditions for receiving the funds. TCD’s Funding Consultant conducts research, trainings, and keeps contacts for best practices on meeting grant qualifications.
Q: How hard is it to get one of these grants?
A: How’s your tolerance for lots of paperwork and computers? Obtaining grants can be a lot of bureaucratic labor filing electronic forms and providing spreadsheet data. Some simpler grants can be as quick as a one-pager. All grant aspirations are manageable with time and the right approach. Here are some factors to consider:
Time Value: Researching, writing, and managing grants requires time and effort but the commitment but can yield significant benefits. Generally the more the award, the more time you’re going to need.
Availability: Grants are available for a wide range of purposes and often competitive. Knowing where to look and how to gain points on applications are crucial. The right opportunity can be rejected because of the wrong details left in or out of the application. How much effort are you setting aside for phone calls and grant research for each grantor?
Expectations: You may spend all this time and get nothing so you will have to set realistic goals and soft expectations. Not every application will be successful or fully funded but planning and persistence pay off. Have you considered planning multiple sources of contingent funding?
Q: How do we avoid grant and lending scams?
A: Just like all things on the internet, it’s important to do the due diligence in finding out who is offering the funds, why they are offering funds, what the terms of receiving and using the funds are, and if their corporate filings are true and up to date before providing sensitive information for grant and lending opportunities, as well as the qualifications and experience of the company offering assistance. Some grant opportunities that are too good to be true end up being forms to collect data or payment information for marketing or sometimes malicious purposes. Do your research!
