Locate Small Business Financing

Find tips and ideas about financing sources with these online articles:

Give Yourself the Money Hunting Edge
This article from American Express Financial Management talks about how best to show investors and lenders that your new small business is a great investment!

Steps to Success: A resource guide to starting a business in Kansas
Chapter Four in this guide, entitled "Financial Alternatives" covers financing in detail, including Kansas programs that provide financing to small businesses, federal financing programs and venture capital sources. 

The Credit Process: A Guide For Small Business Owners
From the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, this detailed article covers all that you need to know about obtaining and using credit for small business.

Places to find small business loans:

Small Business Association Finance Start-up
The SBA is “the largest source of long-term small business financing in the nation.” Find out more about how to get assistance and if an SBA loan fits your business's financing needs.

SBA approved sources of financing
This list shows which lenders and grantors have been evaluated and approved by the SBA.

National Association of Small Business Investment Companies
The Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) program is a unique public/private partnership that has provided $46 billion in financing to almost 100,000 small U.S. companies since the program’s creation in 1958.  SBICs are privately organized and managed venture capital firms licensed by the SBA to make equity capital or long-term loans available to small companies. These small companies often require financing in the critical $250,000 to $5 million range that is generally not available through banks or non-SBIC private equity firms. SBICs fill that gap, supporting thousands of U.S. small businesses each year.

Small Business Grants - Individual Development Accounts

The Family Conservancy - Individual Development Accounts
The Family Conservancy gives individual development accounts to low-income residents in the Kansas City metro area. This money can be used to start or expand a business. Contact Nora at the Family Conservancy for more information: (913) 342-1110.

Corporation for Enterprise Development - Individual Development Account Directory
Individual development accounts are grants given to low-income individuals that can be used to start or expand a business. Search the directory on the Corporation for Enterprise Development Web site to find local organizations that have individual development account programs.

Other Small Business Grants:

Business.gov - Small Business Guide to Government Grants and Loans
Federal and state governments do not provide grants for starting or expanding small businesses. However, there are a few federal agencies that provide grants to small business engaged in scientific research. A list of links to these agencies is available at www.business.gov.

Small Business Administration - Note on Grants
The Small Business Administration does not offer grants to start or expand small business. The SBA focuses on grants to non-profit organizations that foster business development.