In the USA, one in every three adults has a criminal record. But there is still a lot of discrimination against ex-felons in the job market. So, having a business is the best option for many people. That is why you should maximize the loans and grants available for felons.
Besides the lack of job availability for felons, business is good for those who have always dreamed of entrepreneurship. If you have always wanted to be a CEO or your own boss, you can start something you are passionate about and own a business of your own.
Since people have business ideas but lack the funding to start them, loans and grants can come to the rescue. The grants listed here are specifically available for felons that want to start a business. So instead of sitting down and feeling bad about not getting a job, take advantage of these grants.
Grants available for felons
- Fedex Small Business Grant Contest
In this contest, ten applicants can win up to $50,000 to set up their businesses. It also comes with business services and office print worth $4,000. If you are not among the top ten winners, there is also something big for you.
You can still get up to a $20,000 grant as well as other resources to start up your business.
- Grants.gov
There are over 1,000 federal programs from which you can get grants. Grants.gov can help you discover these grant opportunities from those government programs.
To get access to these federal grant programs, open a workspace and fill in your correct details. Then start applying for grants that you are eligible to get.
- GrantWatch
This option is very similar to Grants.gov. It is a grant database that can help you find the funding program a startup felon needs. For small businesses, there are over 1,200 funding programs available on GrantWatch that you can apply for.
You can get a free membership or subscribe for wider access to the database.
Loans available for felons
- Online small business loans
There are many online small business loans available to you. But you should go for the ones that have a friendly interest rate. You also need to check for stability and flexibility so that you can have the freedom to pay with ease.
Some of the felon-friendly small business loans are startup business loans, unsecured business loans, and business loans for bad credit.
- Microloans from the US Small Business Administration
This program can give you access to useful loans, but the process can be tedious. But you can get up to $50,000 to fund your business, so it is worth the stress.
To increase your chances of securing this loan, get a reputable guarantor and also provide collateral. The SBA doesn’t disqualify applicants based on a criminal record.
