For prisoners, they can get a good life as others have experienced. Convicts can also start the business they want after successfully serving their time in prison. Although it is possible, there may be certain difficulties or need serious efforts compared to those who have never been involved in a felony at all.
For more details, check out this blog.
Can I Start a Business If I’ve Been Involved In Crime Before?
You might be wondering if ex-felons can do business. And can they get loans or grants? Before discussing grants for ex-felons, you should know whether being an ex-felon can fulfill the main requirements to be able to do business openly.
The answer is yes, which is good news for ex-felons. You need to know that no law prohibits ex-felons from starting a business. So, it’s just someone’s prejudice that makes the ban.
But for ex-felons to start a business, they need money. Some may not have much capital to realize their business dreams. To help ex-felons with their business needs, there are several options to consider, one of which is small business grants.
About Small Business Grants For Ex-felons
One of the ways ex-felons can seek funding is through grants. Since these are grants, it means offering money to felons for free. There is no need for any payment and no need to return the funds as in the case of business loans.
So who offers these grants? Usually, grants for ex-felons are provided by the government, be it the city, state, or federal government. Other sources of grants are non-profit organizations, foundations, and private companies. Each of these grants usually has its target audience.
In general, these grants for ex-felons target a wide range of small businesses, but some may target more specific categories of businesses. For example, grants are only available for women, veterans, minorities, and so on. Another possibility is that small business grants are given to certain types of industries.
While these grants are very lucrative for ex-felons, they are often highly competitive. Therefore, you should review the requirements in detail. If you are familiar with all the requirements, then you can try applying for the grants.
That way, your chances of getting ex-felon business ex-felons will be higher.
Examples of Some Business Grants
Some organizations provide grants to support small businesses planned by ex-felons. Here are some examples of grants for you to consider:
1. FedEx Business Grant Contest
One of them is FedEx which offers grants for small businesses of up to $25,000 and this is done annually. To try to apply for this grant, a business story in the form of a video recording is required. If you have already made a video recording about your business, then you can try applying for this FedEx grant.
See also : Free Money and Financial Assistance for Ex-Felons
2. Nav’s Business Grant
Another example is Nav’s grant which runs every quarter. The Nav’s grant provides $10,000 that can help businesses run by ex-felons overcome challenges.
3. NASE Growth Grants
The NASE grant is offered to those who are members of NASE itself. The purpose of this grant is to take a business to the next level. The grant value is $4,000 and is available to be used for a variety of activities ranging from setting up new business equipment to hiring help, organizing business promotions, and so on.
These are some examples of grant providers that can be considered for ex-felons who need help running a small business.
Apart from grants, loans for ex-felons might be another alternative. If you are interested in building a business after your detention, then you should consider grant programs that are specifically for small business grant assistance. Choose the grant category that suits your needs and qualifications to be more likely to get help from the grant.