Free Money from the Federal Government for Small Businesses and Entrepreneurs [Paperback]

Laurie Blum (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0471130095 | ISBN-13: 978-0471130093 | Publication Date: January 1996 | Edition: 2

A completely revised, updated edition of the bestselling guide to the millions of dollars available for free from the federal government

Even in the best of times, starting and running a small business can be an uphill battle. To help make life easier, Free Money(r) guru Laurie Blum shows you how to successfully tap into the hundreds of millions of dollars in government funding available free to entrepreneurs and small business owners. Grants range from $5,000 to some in the six figures, and best of all, absolutely none of them ever have to be paid back.

1,500 grants available from 52 government agencies
* Complete addresses, phone and fax numbers, and contact names
* Easy-to-use format with grants grouped by state and according to business category (agricultural, real estate, minorities, general business, R&D, etc.)
* Step-by-step instructions on how to apply for a grant and how to write a winning proposal
* Sample application forms and an extensive bibliography listing government and private foundation sourcebooks as well as other helpful publications

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

A completely revised, updated edition of the bestselling guide to the millions of dollars available for free from the federal government

Even in the best of times, starting and running a small business can be an uphill battle. To help make life easier, Free Money(r) guru Laurie Blum shows you how to successfully tap into the hundreds of millions of dollars in government funding available free to entrepreneurs and small business owners. Grants range from $5,000 to some in the six figures, and best of all, absolutely none of them ever have to be paid back.

1,500 grants available from 52 government agencies

• Complete addresses, phone and fax numbers, and contact names
• Easy-to-use format with grants grouped by state and according to business category (agricultural, real estate, minorities, general business, R&D, etc.)
• Step-by-step instructions on how to apply for a grant and how to write a winning proposal
• Sample application forms and an extensive bibliography listing government and private foundation sourcebooks as well as other helpful publications

About the Author

LAURIE BLUM is America's Free Money(r) expert and the author of fifteen books on the subject, including her bestseller, Free Money(r) for Small Businesses and Entrepreneurs. She is also the cofounder of Blum & O'Hara, a highly successful fund-raising company headquartered in Los Angeles. Ms. Blum lives in New York City.

Product Details

• Paperback: 358 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 2 edition (January 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471130095
• ISBN-13: 978-0471130093
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 1.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #245,540 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #20 in Books > Business & Investing > Small Business & Entrepreneurship > Raising Capital

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

188 of 189 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Ways to Call Local Government Agencies for Loan Applications, August 13, 2000

By 

Donald Mitchell "Jesus Loves You!" (Thanks for Providing My Reviews over 109,000 Helpful Votes Globally) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Free Money from the Federal Government for Small Businesses and Entrepreneurs (Paperback)

I rarely rate a book as one star. This book is the exception.

My favorite gripe about books is that some of them have misleading titles designed to make them more appealing to book buyers. That certainly describes this book. The bulk of the programs listed in the book are LOAN programs. I don't think loans are a source of free money. Do you? The author never explains why these are sources of free money.

Usually, when I find a misleading title, I still find a mostly worthwhile book underneath. This book is the exception. Almost all of the programs listed come from either the Small Business Administration, the Agriculture Department, or Housing and Urban Development. Each of these organizations will help you over the telephone or send you material on the programs they make available. Web sites are also available.

Why, then, is the book so thick? That's because it lists the same agencies at the same address over . . . and over . . . and over . . . and over. You get the idea. Properly organized, this book could have been condensed to about 20 percent of its size, and would have been easier to use. That would have reduced the costs to the readers and the profits to the publisher and author. Can't have that, can we?

Let's look at the next problem. This book was published in this edition in 1996. There's been a lot of change in government programs since then. So undoubtedly, a lot of this information is out of date. A book like this should be updated at least every two years.

Finally, once you find out who to talk to or write to, what do you do? The book claims to help you design your application and use your grant properly. I found the material on that subject to be very brief and general. Few would find it adequate to succeed in even getting an SBA loan. Lengthy books are written on that subject alone!

If you want to get help from these agencies, find someone who has experience with them to help you (like your banker, attorney, accountant or neighbor). Even if you need to call information in your state to get the telephone number of the relevant governmental agency, that will still cost a lot less than this book.

Do not buy, and do not read this book.

If ever I have seen an example of a miscommunication about how to improve a business, it is in the form of this book. I encourage you to consider ways to redesign your business's basic operating model (perhaps through more outsourcing) as a way to reduce your need for capital, as a substitute to taking on loans from the Federal Government.

112 of 113 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Same addresses listed over and over again, February 11, 2000

By 

Joe - See all my reviews

This review is from: Free Money from the Federal Government for Small Businesses and Entrepreneurs (Paperback)

I searched all over for this book. It was even recommended through a business brief published by Business Reference Services Humanities and Social Sciences Division Library of Congress in 1994. So you could only imagine my dissappointment when I realized this book simply lists a bunch of addresses over and over again and gives you almost nothing to go on. I got much more out of a 35 page booklet entitled Your Guide To Free Government Grants than I did from this over 350 page book. I truly felt dissapointed and would not recommend this book to anyone searching for a grant.

64 of 65 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars DISAPPOINTED!, June 27, 2000

By 

stephanie A Jackson (Birmingham, Alabama) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Free Money from the Federal Government for Small Businesses and Entrepreneurs (Paperback)

I was very disappointed in this book because I felt like the title itself is very misleading. The title of the book is called "FREE MONEY From the Federal Governement for SMALL BUSINESSES AND ENTREPRENEURS" By Laurie Blum. The book description clearly states that there are hundreds of millions of dollars available FREE! to small business and entrepreneurs, when in fact the only thing that I found in this book pertaining to small businesses were LOANS and ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS, and the last time I checked LOANS are not free. This book description needs to be more clear as to what kinds of grants are available and the title "FREE MONEY" should not be used when this book is filled with mostly loan options. From reading the book description I was under the impression that this was a book filled with nothing but grant information! I was very disappointed and unsatisfied with this book. If I'm wrong or misunderstood this book please fill free to correct me and direct me to the pages where the business grants are supposed to be located.