Eddie Starr ⋅ Spokane, WA U.S. Navy, Seaman ⋅ 4 years served

My experience has been that grants are difficult to get.

However, if your a disabled veteran, there is a lot of opportunities to do contracting for the various levels of government, although competition can be fierce.

It's a limited area, but if you're in a HUBZone, some of the government contracting awards can be awarded, with little or no competition.

James Mingey ⋅ Oregon City, OR Veterans Business Services ⋅ 25 years experience

Tony,

An easier way to apply for Vocational Rehab is to google VA Vonnap and alloy on line. You do need a 20% rating. Typically you must ask firmly at the interview for what is called Track 3 Self
Employment. Grants up to $25k only for Traing and Equipment or unlimited for severely disabled veterans

My own experience is that there are no special grants available for Veterans other than EBV which offers graduates $1-3k There are small local/state grants available to all entrepreneurs. Check you local community development organizations, both private and public

It is true that SBIR grants are available but they are usually for complex technical projects and are very competitive.

Terria Wheeler ⋅ Norcross, GA U.S. Army, Sergeant ⋅ 4 years served

Tony, look up the your nearby Vocational Rehabilitation & Education office. Usually its inside or across from the VA Hospital. Ask for a form to get enrolled; once approved you will be assigned a counselor who will tell you whether or not your disability qualifies for a grant.

I just had my appointment last week and in order to qualify for a small business loan you must me "severely injured", no percentage was given.

David Eastman ⋅ Gresham, OR Gamma Therapeutics, Inc. ⋅ 35 years experience

Dear Tony,

First of all, thank you for your service. Not to disparage any of the answers from other advisors, but the truth is there are a host of Federal and matching state grants available for starting a business. EVERY government department is required to set aside 2.3% of their total annual operating budget for grants to for-profit and non-profit start ups and these come under what are called Small Business Innovation Research grants (SBIR) and STTR grants.
You can find these grants under the website www.grants.gov and they also list the requirements you need to me to be eligible. Some of those requirements you will be doing, in any case, to start your business. For example, naming your company, incorporating, filing for a Federal EIN number, etc.
There are also a host of "congressionally-directed and mandated grants" that seek to grant monies to organizations,, companies and institutions doing research or product development in key areas of need in the government.
I would go to www.grants.gov and explore the possibilities.
Our little start up, Gamma Therapeutics, won a $1.56 M SBIR grant to develop a new heart attack test for people with heart problems. We did develop it and now it is on the market and owe no monies back to the government for our development.

Good luck in seeking grants and starting your business.

Regards,

David F Eastman, CEO, Gamma Therapeutics
US Navy, Vietnam-Era Veteran

Richard Ashe ⋅ Houston, TX Veteran Franchise Advisers ⋅ 30 years experience

HiTony,

Thank you for your service.

You didn't mention any details about the type of business; Is for or non profit?

See below excerpt from https://www.sba.gov/starting-business/finance-your-business/grants

The federal government does NOT provide grants for starting and expanding a business.

Government grants are funded by your tax dollars and therefore require very stringent compliance and reporting measures to ensure the money is well spent. As you can imagine, grants are not given away indiscriminately.

Grants from the federal government are only available to non-commercial organizations, such as non-profits and educational institutions in areas such as, medicine, education, scientific research and technology development. The federal government also provides grants to state and local governments to assist them with economic development.

Some business grants are available through state and local programs, non-profit organizations and other groups. For example, some states provide grants for expanding child care centers; creating energy efficient technology; and developing marketing campaigns for tourism. These grants are not necessarily free money, and usually require the recipient to match funds or combine the grant with other forms of financing such as a loan. The amount of the grant money available varies with each business and each grantor.

If you are not one of these specialized businesses, both federal and state government agencies provide financial assistance programs that helps small business owners obtain low-interest loans and venture capital financing from commercial lenders.

Mr. Orr also referenced the EBV which is an excellent program. There are also some state programs available.

At your service
Rich

William Orr ⋅ Greenwood, IN Edward Jones Investments ⋅ 4 years experience

Tony, I'd check your source on this one. I'm not certain that a grant (free money) would be realistic; however, there are a great deal of SBA loan programs that have been created to benefit DVs. There is another discussion pertaining to this topic on the board which may be helpful to you--type in 'Grant' in the search box.

If you have a service-connected disability, this program may be your ticket to launching your business...http://ebv.vets.syr.edu/. Check it out.