Lux Investing

Is it a good idea to join a company that promises to assist you to find government money for business invest?

I recently learned about a company that promises to fully assist in applying for government grants and real estate loan deals if you join for a fee? They claim that with their extensive research and legal department they can for a one time fee hugely enhance your chances to receive all kinds of grants and bargain loans. It seems like a good deal if they truly provide a good service and the members are highly successful at having their applications approved. I wonder if anyone knows about these types of offers and have good experiences or negative outcomes. How much money is available from the government and how difficult is it to actually receive some?

Public Comments

1. not usually. You are probably better off doing your own research. At the very least though you can research this company. Check out the better business bureau.
2. NO it is not. First, government does not give out grants to support a for-profit venture. It is hard to find grants for individuals, harder still to find one that would support a for-profit business. They're just trying to scam you and give empty promises. Second, you can get the information yourself for free. You can go to the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) http://www.cfda.gov and Grants.gov http://www.grants.gov - these are two sites created by the federal government to provide transparency and information on grants. Most of the federal grants are given to specific target groups with specific requirements (e.g. minority business owners involved in transportation related contracts emanating from DOT - Grant#20.905 Disadvantaged Business Enterprises Short Term Lending Program Grants are also often given to non profit groups or organizations involved in training or other similar activities (grant 59.043 Women's Business Ownership Assistance that are given to those who will create women's business center that will train women entrepreneurs Even SBA does NOT give out grants. From the SBA website http://www.sba.gov/expanding/grants.html... "The U.S. Small Business Administration does not offer grants to start or expand small businesses, although it does offer a wide variety of loan programs. (See http://www.sba.gov/financing for more information) While SBA does offer some grant programs, these are generally designed to expand and enhance organizations that provide small business management, technical, or financial assistance. These grants generally support non-profit organizations, intermediary lending institutions, and state and local governments."