702-871-8678
California Small Business Grants
It is often difficult for startups and small businesses to fund their business operations. They are thus offered some form of financial help like loans and Small business grants in California. These can help startups to establish their operations and grow without having to mortgage anything at all unlike loans. This type of grant constitutes a small amount of seed money that may be for fulfilling specific purposes like encouraging entrepreneurship.
Doing Business in California
The California economy is the largest in the US with the gross state product at $3.02 trillion. It is also considered as the 5th largest economy in the world with the San Francisco Bay Area recording a GDP of $535 billion. It is home to more than 4 million small businesses spanning a huge variety of industries including 69,387 small business exporters. These numbers are astounding but the fact is that there are many startups that have climbed to the high growth stage with the help of small business grants in California. It is one of the most competitive markets in the US and the world and as a small business; you may need extra funds in the early stages of the business operations. This is where the new small business grants in California can provide the much needed relief.
Why do startups and small businesses prefer doing business in California?
California has been one of the favorite destinations for startups and small businesses since the mid-1960s and in the 1990’s it became famous for Silicon Valley, which was the epicenter of innovation in software, internet, user interfaces, and computer operating systems. It is not just the California economy that attracts entrepreneurs but also some of the opportunities that enable the creation of a pro-business environment. Some of the factors are:
- Networking: California is the home to several business opportunities and this is made possible through hundreds of events, trade shows, and conferences that keep taking place in the state throughout the year. These events provide the perfect platform for new as well as existing businesses.
- Grants: Every business needs funding for their business operations but there are times when an entrepreneur may have a great idea but no funds. The small business grants in California programs provide funds to such businesses.
- Industries: There are several different sectors or industries in which you can start your new business. Some of the fastest-growing industries include construction, healthcare, services, technology, agriculture, hospitality, tourism and the film industry.
- Talent Pool: One of the most important aspects of a new business apart from startup grants in California is the talent pool. The talent hired by a business eventually helps the business to achieve its marketing, sales, or financial objectives and California has a deep talent pool. California is home to some of the top universities in the world including Stanford, Caltech and UCLA.
CA Business Portal State Incentives, Tax Credits and Funding
Although a CA small business relief grant can be a boon for any startup, there are several other options that can help a new business financially like federal, state and local incentives. California has a strong incentive program for small businesses and you can choose from incentive categories by industry, business operation, and type. The California relief grant program is also an integral part of the business incentive program.
Incentives by Industry
In California, you can start a new business in just about any industry with the help of a CA small business relief grant. Each industry markets a different product or service and hence the type of incentive required would be in accordance to the type of industry although there are some general incentives that are useful for businesses in any industry like California relief grant program and tax credit or exemption programs. The incentives for small businesses are categorized according to the following industries:
- Advanced Manufacturing
- Agricultural/Timber Industry
- Biotech/Health Care
- Energy and Environment
- Film and Television
- Food Processors
- Manufacturing
- Recyclers
- Transportation
Some of the incentives are common to multiple industries. For example, the Sales and Use Tax Exemption Program can be benefitted from by startups in the advanced manufacturing industry as well as Agriculture, healthcare, energy, and manufacturing industry.
Incentives by Business Operation
Business incentives like the small business grants in California have a two pronged benefit as they help startups with financial aid through tax exemptions and training programs among others. Simultaneously, the business incentive programs like Opportunity Zone program and Foreign Trade Zones help the state to attract small businesses and startups. In California, you can apply for an incentive program based on the type of business operation. For instance, you can apply for a California relief grant program for the purpose of Business Expansion or Facility Improvements. The incentives for small businesses categorized by business operation include:
- Workforce Development Programs
- Business Expansion or Facility Improvements
- Hiring & Training Programs
- Startup or Small Business Support Programs
- Export-Import Business Programs
- Utilities
- Recycling
Some of the above programs are driven towards fulfilling a specific requirement of a business. One such example is the “California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank Export Financing Program” that provides loans to startups or small businesses selling manufactured products to other countries. Similarly, a program like the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) is a federal incentive program for employers hiring individuals from specific target groups such as veterans.
Incentives by Type
The key objective of an incentive is to address the existing or future requirement of a small business . For example, the CA small business relief grant program has been designed to help businesses impacted by COVID-19 to provide financial aid varying between $5,000 and $25,000 to eligible small businesses and is granted by the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development. You can also choose to apply for an incentive program based on type of program category, which are:
- Bonds
- Loans
- Grants
- Tax Credits and Exemptions
- Utilities
If you were searching for a grant then the new small business grants California program would be ideal but if you are looking for a loan then the Small Business Loan Guarantee Program would be a better option.
Financing opportunities
If you are an entrepreneur or are planning to start a new business in California then you may require initial funding to help with your business growth and scaling plans. Business industry experts and insiders believe that one of the primary causes of startup failure is lack of capital in the starting phase or in the business development phase. This is where state based financing opportunities can be quite beneficial like the small business grants in California, which can provide your business the necessary thrust. Financing opportunities in the state can be classified under:
- Agriculture
- Business Expansion/Facility Improvements
- Green Business/Clean Tech
- Exporting/Importing
- Startup or Small Business Support
This basically means that if you were planning to form a new business in an industry where you require transportation vehicles then you can avail financing opportunities through facility improvements programs, small business support programs, and even green business programs. At the same time, you can also opt for the startup grant in California to provide you with extra financial support.
Start a California Business Today!
California Grants Portal
The California Grants Portal is one of the best places to find small business grants in California. Whether you are a new business planning to bring your ideas into reality or an existing business thinking of growth and expansion you can find a variety of grant or loan opportunities here.
About California Grants Portal
The California Grants Portal is managed primarily by the California State Library and provides a wealth of information on different and active California relief grant programs. The Grant Information Act of 2018 (Stats. 2018, Ch. 318) authorized state agencies like the California State Library to make all information pertaining to grants for small businesses to be available over the Internet.
As a result, the California Grants Portal was launched in July 2020 to cater to entrepreneurs and business owners seeking grants. You can search the portal for CA small business relief grants as well as other grants based on the agency offering it, categories like science & technology, and disbursement method. There are currently 125 grant opportunities on the website with available funding of $20.5 billion. Let’s look at an example to understand this:
A new business like ABC Inc., is searching for small business grants in California using the California Grants Portal. They go to the find grants section and provide their specific requirements like any agency, business or individual for applicant, education, science, and technology industry category, and any disbursement method then they will get the following grants:
- Sales Tax Exclusion (STE) Program
- Monarch Butterfly and Pollinator Rescue Program
- WHALE TAIL® Competitive Grants Program
- Regional Conservation Investment Strategies (RCIS)
ABC Inc., can choose the Sales Tax Exclusion (STE) Program as this startup grant in California offers sales and use tax exclusion on purchase of equipment by manufacturers. The total estimated available funding is $100,000,000 and the funding method is through advances & reimbursements. In order to apply for the grant, they will have to submit the application with the grantor’s office, which is the State Treasurer’s Office.
Other Recent Funding Opportunities Published in the Local State
Every year, the state of California as well as the Federal government creates and implements small business grants in California so that small businesses can benefit from it. A surprising fact is that the federal budget concerning government grants is in excess of $90,919 million with additional local government funding amounting to $61,971 million. Some of the recent opportunities that exist for small businesses in terms of state funding are from a variety of sectors like education and training to innovation and conservation. For example, the Conservation Innovative Grants Program for the agriculture, environment, and natural resources sector offers a funding of $150,000 for eligible applicants. There are several other startup grants in California available through the recent funding opportunities including:
- Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Californian CESU – Funding amount of $48,000 (G20AS00048)
- Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Californian CESU – Funding amount of $25,000 (G20AS00078)
- Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Californian CESU – Funding amount of $54,000 (G20AS00065)
- INRMP Support Ft Hunter Liggett & PRFTA, California – Funding amount of $89,987 (W9126G 20 2 SOI 4876)
- 2021 NOAA California Bay Watershed Education and Training (B-WET) Program – Funding amount of $100,000 (NOAA NOS ONMS 2021 2006749)
- Head Start/Early Head Start Grantee-Communities in the state of California – Funding amount of $59,527,092 (HHS 2021 ACF OHS CH R09 1860)
Ready to Start Business in California?
It is never an easy decision to start a new business as making a startup fully functional entails several processes right from creating a business plan to applying for small business grants in California and eventually filing of formation or incorporation documents. The process doesn’t end here as a business has annual maintenance requirements and should remain compliant with all California state laws and regulations. This is where IncParadise has its expertise and experience. We are an expert incorporation service provider in California and can help you to start your business in the state.
IncParadise also offers a range of additional services as we understand businesses need to maintain active status and hence, we can help you with all your annual filing requirements like the annual report. Some of our additional service areas include helping you obtain a Tax ID number, and S Corporation status election among others.