Has anyone ever heard of "The Grant People?" Are they reputable?

Question

I am beginning a business start-up, and I have been speaking to a corporation called "The Grant People."  They claim to write grant submissions and file paperwork with thebusinesses that offer grants to small business start-ups.  They say that they charge $2500 non-refundable for their services and another $2500 if and when grant funding comes through.  Turn-around of the process is to be about 4-6 months.  Is anyone familiar with this company?  What can you tell me about them?

imisidro · Accepted Answer

SCAM -- avoid them and simply put your $2,500 back to your business. You will not get anything because there is no such thing as grants for startup businesses

I would be EXTREMELY WARY of companies that claim you can get grants for whatever purpose you want because that is absolutely false and not how federal grants work. And I would be SCARED all the more that this company wants you to apply for grants through them because there is only ONE site where you can apply for grants legitimately - and that is Grants.gov http://www.grants.gov

You may also want to read the warnings FTC has issued against these "grant" companies:

http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2004/03/grantresources.htm
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/alerts/alt134.htm

Here is also one of the warnings issued by the Better Business Bureau http://www.concord.bbb.org/tips_timesharescams.html

Even SBA does NOT give out grants. From the SBA website http://www.sba.gov/mostrequesteditems/CON_FAQ2.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."

Nonetheless, 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. Browse through the listings and see if you can find any grant that would support a for-profit venture.

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

Anonymous · Answer

They are a scam.  There are no grants to start a for profit business.  If you need money, go to http://www.sba.gov/starting_business/ or http://www.bplan.com/ where you will find sample plans and instructions on how to write a business plan.  Submit your business plan to a bank.  The lending committee will review your business plan and if they find it feasible, will loan you some or all of the money you are asking for.

TNTMA · Answer

You might check and see if they are registered with the BBB (Better Business Bureau).  I've included a link to their website below.  I would definitely check them out thoroughly before giving them any money.  Good luck!

http://search.bbb.org/

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Has anyone ever heard of "The Grant People?" Are they reputable?

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