For small businesses, the market is becoming more competitive day by day in the United States. Businesses of all sizes are negatively impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic since the year 2020. Making changes in the business model and getting support in order to recover the losses and sustain in this uncertain and unsuitable situation has become necessary. Businesses are also looking for support from the federal government of the United States.
Search for a grant from the federal government on the internet and you will get to see multiple relatable information. There are numerous sites as such to find out government grants as opportunities for small businesses to grow. Among thousands of government grants, you can find the best-suited grants for your company.
Not every assistance flows directly from the government to small businesses. Some funds are distributed to state and local government agencies, non-profit organizations, and other institutions. These entities are responsible for distributing funds or using them to provide educational and technical assistance.
The government of the United States has developed programs to support small businesses in various kinds of ways and solutions. The main purpose of these government programs is to provide support and help the small businesses of the United States to sustain and excel in terms of business in the federal market.
Just like the way, the government of the U.S. is providing grants or funds, the government also provides federal contracting opportunities and helps businesses grow. The companies get support through various kinds of government programs.
So, along with providing grants to the companies, there are programs of the U.S. government for helping certain types of companies with government contracting opportunities. HUBZone is one such program through which commercial companies can get federal contracting opportunities and funds or HUBZone grants. In order to get into the HUBZone program, you will need to obtain the HUBZone certification.
We recommend you to get your business HUBZone grants and HUBZone government contracts by obtaining HUBZone certification which will be convenient for you.
Note that, if you want to get grants and contracting opportunities then you need to make your business qualify for the program. The type of grants and contracting opportunities available for the companies from the government vary depending on the situation and the type of business.
National Institute of Health Grants – NIH is a funding grant opportunity related to Covid-19 research. Small businesses that develop and research biomedical technology get this NIH grant.
NIA Research and Entrepreneurial Development Immersion (REDI): Entrepreneurial Small Business Transition Award – This grant application is open and the funding opportunity concentrates on supporting early-career scientists who have an interest in entrepreneurship.
NIDILRR's SBIR program – The SBIR program has been developed to support organizations to help advance technology, conduct research and support the economic/social benefits for the country.
PHS 2022-2 Omnibus Solicitation of Small Business Innovation Research Grant Applications – Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) are sponsoring an opportunity for small businesses. Qualifying small businesses with the technical expertise and research capability to contribute to the R&D missions of both the CDC and the NIH are invited to apply for the SBIR grant application.
Small Business Innovation Research Program – The SBIR offers grants to small businesses in the U.S. so that they can participate in federal research and development with the potential for commercialization.
There is a wide range of other programs and grants as such. These are:
In order to get government funds or grants, you will have to go through a considerable amount of paperwork. Applying for receiving grants from the U.S. government can be a time-consuming and technical process. Before you apply for any of these programs you need to make sure that your business is eligible to apply.
The federal government of the United States spends a huge capital to purchase goods and services from federal contractors or small businesses each year. A large amount of money is spent through the bidding process. Programs have been developed to provide assistance to federal contractors or small businesses to help them obtain government contracts easily. As a result, the small businesses get better scope for competing with large and established companies in the federal market.
The federal government seeks to award a minimum of 3% of all federal contracting capital to small businesses of service-disabled veterans in the United States. This program has been solely developed to offer assistance to small business owners who are service-disabled veterans. The business must be owned and controlled over 50% by service-disabled veterans. The day-to-day operations and long-term goals must be managed by service-disabled veterans.
The federal government seeks to award a minimum 3% of all federal contracting capital to women-owned small businesses annually. This program is run by the Small Business Administration (SBA) of the U.S. government. With the help of this program, the women entrepreneurs get business training, counseling, federal contracting opportunities, and access to credit and capital. The main goal of the Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) is to give equal government contracting opportunities and recognition to all businesswomen in the United States.
The purpose of the 8(a) business development program is to provide assistance to small businesses that are owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged entities. The government limits the competition for 8a-certified companies so that it becomes for disadvantaged companies to obtain contracts with competitive advantages.
In this blog, we are giving special attention to the HUBZone program because of the remarkable benefits that small businesses get through government contracting opportunities and HUBZone grants. The HUBZone program especially helped small businesses during the Covid-19 pandemic to recover all the losses and sustain in the poor market. So that is why now you are about to talk about the HUBZone program precisely. So let’s begin to understand this government program.
The HUBZone program is run by the Small Business Administration (SBA) of the United States. The program is solely developed to support small businesses that operate and employ people in Historically Under-utilized Business Zones. By providing aid or we can say HUBZone grants to small businesses, the HUBZone program makes them highly competitive to obtain government contracts. Businesses with HUBZone certification receive set-aside contracts and preferences from the government agencies of the United States. The program promotes equal procurement opportunities to small, minority, and women-owned businesses. It maintains a list of qualified HUBZone small businesses so that government agencies can use it to locate vendors. In order to get into the program, your business needs to be small. Your ownership has to be above 50%. The company can also be owned and controlled by a Community Development Corporation, an agricultural cooperative, a Native Hawaiian organization, an Indian tribe, or an Alaska Native corporation. Your company must have the principal office at a HUBZone location. Even the employees of your business must live in a HUBZone location. The certified companies get a price evaluation preference of 10% in full and open contract competitions.
Since 2019, becoming a participant in the HUBZone program has become easier. That is why the small businesses got help from the HUBZone program in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Conclusion
So now you know the government grants that you can get and development programs that you can get into. It is your time to figure out the best-suited government program and grant for your business. After deciding on a program and grant, start making preparations to make your business eligible by fulfilling the criteria of the government of the United States. You will need some certifications to gain competitive advantages.
Note that, from the HUBZone program you can take HUBZone Grants, and HUBZone government contracts by obtaining HUBZone certification. So wait no more to acquire HUBZone federal contracts.
