Alternative Funding

When beginning a business it's important to know where your money is going to come from. Often times it’s rewarding to seek out alternative financing opportunities. With a little research, you could find grants or opportunities meant for someone like you. Here are some examples:
    First Nations is an organization that provides grants and investments for Native American economies. The organization helps Native American youth, and they also help strengthen non-profits. Their mission is to strengthen economies to support Native communities. If you have a company that hires Native American people, that is considered “green,” or possibly a nonprofit that supports communities as well, then this organization may be very interested in supporting your business. Another similar organization is Oweesta.
    CFED is an organization that helps empower low or moderate-income people to build wealth. They have led in policy change for several levels of government and strive to advance economic opportunity for many. Their organization would probably be happy to play a part in a company that is hiring people who need jobs, and also stimulating opportunity economies. They provide a program for entrepreneurs who have a critical role in the growth and stability of their economy. They focus on entrepreneurs that provide jobs or others through themselves or micro businesses.
    A lot of these different types of funding are very important for us as entrepreneurs. When researching alternative funding I found a lot of organizations are looking to invest in companies, or entrepreneurs, who are providing jobs and stimulating their economies. Trying to stimulate or grow an economy anywhere is hard to begin with, but trying to where there is no economy, or in a region that has a bad overall economy is even harder. With the help from these organizations, you can be a part of something much larger than starting a business, you can create opportunity.