Minority Small Business Grants Might be Available From Local Agencies

Grants Are Specific and Limited

Grants are typically for specific purposes announced during specific periods. Minority small business grants might be available under some such specific program or a local redevelopment initiative. For example, in many communities there are initiatives to bring development to impoverished areas.

Federal grants might be available for organizations and projects seeking to improve the condition of minorities. The following is an example: 5/22/2008 - Minority Science and Engineering Improvement Program (MSEIP) CFDA 84.120A - U.S. Department of Education - ED-GRANTS-042208-005 - Federal Register/Vol. 73, No. 78/Tuesday, April 22, 2008/Notices

If you wish to explore Federal grant opportunities, you can visit http://www.grants.gov/. You will do better looking at local agencies for any grants, however.

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Grants are somewhat like handouts rather than business assistance. Minority business owners would benefit best from business training and mentoring initiatives rather than from such handouts. Federal government has established an agency, Minority Business Development Agency - MBDA - to "foster the establishment and growth of minority-owned businesses in America".

Minority Business Development Agency

MBDA seeks to achieve its goal of "entrepreneurial parity for minority business enterprises" in the USA by offering programs that help minority-owned businesses access to capital and markets. A key focus will be to provide tools to minority businesses so that they can become major suppliers to corporate America and Federal government.

Key programs include:

• Holding a major conference, called National MED Week, at different regions. Each conference will have a major theme of relevance for business growth, such as "The Power of Strategic Alliances in the Global Economy" for the 2008 MED Week conference. You can get more details of the 2008 conference at MED Week 2008.
• Helping applicants to set up Minority Business Enterprise Councils - MBEC - with Federal assistance, on the basis of their capability, resources, techniques & methodologies, and their proposed budgets. MBDA evaluates the applicants for this Federal assistance.
  MBECs in turn help assisted businesses establish fruitful relations with city councils and local corporations, and become certified to do business with city councils.
• New initiatives like a business development mission to other countries and The White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (WHIAAPI).
• MBDA Youth Entrepreneurship program: The Emerging Business Leaders Summit (EBLS) and Emerging Minority Business Leaders (EMBL) programs for minority students.

The emphasis is on helping minority entrepreneurs grow into medium and large businesses by helping them:

• Obtain corporate and government contracts
• Become aware of emerging global opportunities
• Obtain networking help with local governments and industries through local MBECs and
• Train their young managers to emerge as business leaders.

Another Source for Contracts

That National Minority Supply and Diversity Council (NMSDC) is another agency that helps minority businesses get contracts from large corporations. The NMSDC lists the corporations that want to buy goods from minority enterprises. You join NMSDC to establish contacts with these buyers.

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