Want to Pitch to Investors? Funding Post is making it possible!!

Do you want to pitch your business idea to a panel of investors in hopes of securing funding?

Check out Funding Post ‘s “Pitching across America”

FundingPost will be looking for the “hottest” emerging companies to “Pitch” to investors across America! It couldn’t be easier to enter – all you have to do is have an active FundingPost Entrepreneur Account and enter the competition between June 15 and August 30, 2010. In its 7th year, with over 100 VC and Angel Investor Judges, this is the largest venture competition ever hosted!

To Enter your Company in Pitching Across America™ 2010 you must sign up for a Funding Post account which you can access here http://www.fundingpost.com

Once you have completed your FREE company funding profile Funding Post will report back to you on how many Venture Capital sources and Angel Investors may be interested in funding your business. After you complete your company profile and are ready to raise capital from their Venture Capital and Angel Investor network, you can choose to activate your company profile. If you want Funding Post to activate and showcase your company profile to its venture capital and angel investor network, the fee will be $100 for the initial 3 month listing. After the initial 3 month listing you will be charged $30 a month for as long as you wish to remain in their investor network. Active business profiles are showcased to the thousands of Venture Capital funds and Angel (Private Investor) groups ($106.82 Billion) within their funding / corporate finance network.

A panel of 100+ Venture Capital and Angel Investors will act as “judges” in this competition, read Company profiles online, and rate them from 1 – 10 (10 being the best possible score):

There will be 50 Top-rated Companies selected from across the US, and 1 Company will be selected as the Top Emerging Company in America. These companies will receive exclusive access to pitch to Investors at FundingPost CEO events, inclusion in a featured VC mailing, a full year listing on FundingPost online, and the Top Emerging Company will even be able to pitch for free at every FundingPost event nationwide! All of the previous years winners have raised capital since winning the competition!!

Competition : http://www.fundingpost.com/pitch-america.asp?refer=paama2

Good Luck!

Money, Money, Money-Grants, Loans, and one Contest

Hi Ladies,

We at the City Girl Business Club know that it can be a very daunting task trying to find funding for your small business, this is why we try to bring you as many resources as we can.

CONTEST

Pitch.co Would you like to win $50,000 for your business?

Let .CO help turn it into a reality! .CO is the new web address that offers people and companies more choice in branding their online presence with a truly global, recognizable and credible domain. Enter the Create Your Opportunity Contest for a chance to win your your ideal .CO domain and $50,000!

You can enter the Create Your Opportunity Contest between May 4 and June 14 by registering on Pitch.co and telling us and the world about your big idea, your ideal .CO web address and why you should win the contest. The more thorough, well thought-out and passionate your pitch, the more likely it is to get lots of votes from the public. Once you submit your idea, you’ll want to promote it like crazy. Get on Facebook, email, Twitter, your phone and wherever else and beg, borrow or plead to get your friends, family and strangers to vote for your entry. You must be at least 18 years old (or the legal age of majority in jurisdiction of residence if older than 18) and a US resident to submit an entry.

Go to www.pitch.co for more information and to enter.

GRANT PROGRAMS

Girls Going Places Entrepreneurship Award Program
This program gives grant money away every year to girls between the ages of 12 to 18. Applicants must demonstrate a keen interest in entrepreneurship, and must show how they are making a difference in their communities and schools.
Grant Amount: $2,000
www.guardianlife.com/womens_channel/girls_going_places/girls_going_places.html

Huggies Mom Inspired Program

The Huggies® MomInspired™ Grant Program is awarding up to $15,000 in seed money as well as business resources to further the development of original product ideas and startup businesses. Huggies® does not specifically seek ideas that are diaper or hygiene related. Available grants range from $1,000, $5,000, $10,000 and $15,000 based on the applicant’s business needs and goals.

https://www.huggiesmominspired.com/About.aspx

Caleb Brown Community Business Grant Program
Caleb Brown Venture Capital and Consulting is a Chicago-based, minority-owned VC, that manages a community business grant program that gives away cash awards and more than 6,000 consulting hours to national business enterprises.
Grant Amount: Up to $12,000
www.calebbrownonline.com/Grant_Application.html

FHLB Economic Development Program (EDP) Plus Grants
EDP Plus grant funds are available to help member institutions of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas meet their community development needs. It’s a first-come, first served noncompetitive small business grant program, designed to provide capital to under-served areas or to under-served populations in Texas, New Mexico, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi.
Grant Amount: Up to $25,000
www.fhlb.com/community/cip_edpplus.html

Green Heroes Grant Program
The Green Heroes Grant Program will give green to those who do green. Through this initiative, the makers of Green Works® natural cleaners, with help from Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots, will award $60,000 in grant funding to individuals, organizations and schools that are making their communities a greener place.
Grant Amount: Varies
www.greenworkspresskit.com/Green_Heroes_Grant_Program.html

MillerCoors Urban Entrepreneur Series (MUES)
This series is an annual competition for minority business owners sponsored by MillerCoors. Launched in 1999, to encourage entrepreneurship in urban areas, the competition has just celebrated 10 years of giving away business grants to applicants who submit the best business plans. The Urban League is a huge partner in this initiative.
Grant Amount: $25,000 – $100,000
www.millercoorsmues.com

Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC)
OPIC is a U.S. government agency that helps companies invest overseas, and create economic development in new and emerging markets. They have a Small and Medium Enterprise Financing program that provides business grants to companies with annual revenues of $250 million or less.
Grant Amount: Varies
www.opic.gov

Rural Business Enterprise Grants (RBEG) Program
This program provides grants to finance the development of small and emerging businesses in rural areas. The funds can be used for land acquisition, construction, renovation, technical assistance, project planning, and more.
Grant Amount: $25,000 – $100,000
www.rurdev.usda.gov/rbs/busp/rbeg.htm

U.S. Dept of Energy’s Inventions and Innovation
This program offers financial support to individuals and small businesses who develop energy-saving concepts and ideas. Business grants are awarded to companies who stand out during their competitive process.
Grant Amount: $50,000 – $250,000
www1.eere.energy.gov/inventions/

VetFran Business Grant Fund
This fund, sponsored by the IFA Educational Foundation and the PepsiCo Foundation, gives grant money to veterans who have been awarded a franchise through the IFA VetFran program. Applicants have to write a 500-word essay, and the grant money must be used for business development, education, training, etc.
Grant Amount: Up to $10,000
http://emarket.franchise.org/misc/VetFran_BusGrnt.pdf – About The Grant Fund
www.franchise.org/Veteran-Franchise.aspx – About The Franchise Initiative

LOAN PROGRAMS

Community Express
Community Express is an SBA pilot, 7(a) loan program for small businesses in low and moderate income areas. Lenders are not required to take collateral for loans up to $25,000. Lenders may use their existing collateral policy for loans over $25,000 up to $250,000.

Microloan Program

Provides very small loans to start-up, newly established, or growing small business concerns. SBA makes funds available to nonprofit community based lenders which, in turn, make loans to eligible borrowers in amounts up to a maximum of $35,000. Applications are submitted to the local intermediary and all credit decisions are made on the local level.
Accion Small Business Loans
Offers flexible loans (up to $50,000) to small business owners who have limited or no access to traditional business credit, including women and minorities.

Basic 7(a) Loan Program
For starting, acquiring and expanding a small business, 7(a) loans are the most basic and most used type loan of SBA’s business loan programs. Borrowers must apply through a participating lender institution.

Make-mine a million M3 competition-June 14th an 15th

Ladies! If you are looking for a way to grow your business with the help of some of the best experts around, you might want to check out the “Make mine a million” program from Count me in.

“Count Me In for Women’s Economic Independence is the leading national not-for-profit provider of resources, business education and community support for women entrepreneurs seeking to grow micro businesses to million dollar enterprises. Make Mine a Million $ Business is a program of Count Me In for Women’s Economic Independence — and founding partner, OPEN from American Express®. Count Me In introduced the Make Mine a Million $ Business to help women entrepreneurs grow and build sustainable enterprises, create jobs and develop innovative products and services. The M3 Award provides a combination of coaching, financing and marketing tools that will help you take your business from micro to millions”.

About the competition: The next Make Mine a Million $ Business Competition will be held in Newark, New Jersey on June 14 and 15, 2010 at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center.

Eligibility The company must be at least 50% owned by at least one woman who is a U.S. citizen or legal resident. The business should be at least two years old and have annual revenues of at least $200,000. The company’s product or services should have (in the judges’ opinion) the growth potential to achieve $1 million or more in annual revenues within two years. The owner(s) should have four or more years of relevant industry experience. The business must show a reasonable debt-to-equity ratio (in the subjective discretion of the judges) including the capacity to assume additional debt. The owner has a personal credit history which is satisfactory to the judges.

All Applicants who are selected as Finalists must attend the Event at their own expense and be willing to participate in the coaching program, related public relations events, and promotions for the Make Mine a Million $ Business program and its Sponsors and other partners. In some cases applicants may be asked to change the event/location to which they have applied. You will be notified by Count Me In if this occurs.

Award Business coaching from Count Me In’s coaching partner, The Coach Connection
Count Me In’s Capital Concierge Service – personalized assistance from Count Me In experts who will help you prepare your financials to pursue financing through SBA lenders, plus access to American Express Platinum Card for selected Awardees
Press coverage for you and your business from American Express OPEN through local and national television, newspapers, magazines, radio and blogs
Business Membership to a Sam’s Club near you, providing great discounts and services including access to health insurance and health care, merchant credit card processing solutions, and marketing and website management , for one year.
Membership in WIPP, a bipartisan public policy organization, will help you identify the issues that affect your bottom line and provide assistance obtaining federal contracts, capital, technology and energy opportunities.
Discounts on select shipping and office and print services from FedEx
Opportunities to reach new national markets with partners like their Founding Sponsor American Express OPEN, plus Dell, FedEx and Sam’s Club and more.
Membership in an exclusive network of Make Mine a Million $ Business Awardees, a group of successful entrepreneurs and no-nonsense experts dedicated to answering your questions and helping you grow on a daily basis.

Application Deadline The deadline for applications is May 15th, so you may want to apply now at http://www.makemineamillion.org/competition/step1.

Looking for Angel Investors?

Finding an Angel Investor for your business can be a difficult process, however Angelsoft.net makes it very easy.

Angelsoft is a platform that angel investor groups, and many VCs use to manage deal flow. It is an automated system that allows an entrepreneur to submit information to one or many early stage investors in one application process.

Angelsoft is the leading business planning and funding platform on the web today. 20,000+ investors trust the Angelsoft platform to manage their end-to-end deal flow and manage their early equity investments.

Special mention: Golden Seeds is one of the the Angel Groups featured on Angelsoft.net. The reason they get a special mention is because they are a woman owned organization, and  they invest solely in women owned companies.  To find out more about Golden Seeds, you can visit their website at www.goldenseeds.com.