The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (known commonly as the Recovery Act) is pumping billions of dollars into our economy. If you’re a small business looking for funding to start-up or shore-up your operations, you may just be able to find some funding from the government to get you through these tough economic times.

The first place you should start is with your local chamber of commerce and better business bureau. It is in their best interest to support small businesses since these companies provide jobs and boost the local economy. Follow these steps to see what kind of funding you can get from one of these organizations:

1. Find the small business development organizations in your community. You’ll want to look for names such as “Chamber of Commerce,” “Small Business Development Corporation,” and “Economic Development Council.”
2. Research potential funding opportunities. Check out the websites of these organizations to see what kind of funding they provide, or call the office to get an interview with one of the staff members. Most of these organizations will also have an extensive library on how to start or run a small business, local labor laws, state regulations, and so on. Avail yourself of these resources as well.
3. Draft a proposal. Next, you’ll need to come up with a solid business plan and then spin that into an enthusiastic grant proposal. You’ll need to demonstrate good business sense as well as how you will benefit the local community. If you need help writing your proposal, ask these organizations if they know of professionals who specialize in grant proposals. If not, search online at sites like Elance.com, Guru.com, and other job sites.
4. Get help. Your local chamber of commerce will have a long list of diverse members, including people like medical professionals, non-profit organizations accountants, attorneys, realtors, bankers, and county personnel. You can generally have access to these people through your chamber, so take advantage of their wealth of knowledge.

If you’re not able to find funding through your local chamber chapter, there are other funding sources you can seek out. The Small Business Administration (SBA) which has been given $730 million from the Recovery Act to help small business owners—whether you’re already in business or just thinking of starting up a new company. They are offering several ways to get assistance from the government, including:

• Tax incentives
• Debt relief programs
• Loan fee reductions and eliminations
• Higher guarantees
• Expanded microloans
• Secondary market incentives

Here are the things you need to know about getting funding through the SBA:

You must fit the definition of a small business. The definition of “small business” varies somewhat depending on the industry in (get the complete picture here), but here are the basics:

Your company has to be independently owned and operated and must not be dominant in its field on a national level.

1. You must be a for-profit business that operates in the US or that uses American products, materials, or labor.
2. Your company can either be a corporation, a partnership, or a sole proprietorship.

Determine what kind of assistance is available to you. There are many ways the Recovery Act funds will be used by the SBA, all of which aim to increase the number of loans and more liquidity to help new businesses open and keep existing businesses going. Here’s a quick list of some of the programs being proposed (find out more by contacting your local SBA office):

1. You may be able to secure an America’s Recovery Capital (ARC) stabilization loan, which offers deferred-payment stabilization terms for those businesses unable to make their current loan payments.
2. If you’re a new start-up, you may be able to take advantage of an expanded Micro-loan program for newly established and growing small businesses.
3. Loan fees may be reduced, eliminated, or refunded for loans made on or after February 17, 2009. More information can be found at the SBA’s Policy Notice.
4. If you already have a small business loan, you may be able to tap into the 504 Certified Development Company program for refinancing existing loans (this is for fixed assets only).
5. You may be able to apply for an SBA guaranteed surety bond. The maximum for these bonds has been raised with the Recovery Act funds. These are important fro small business owners who would otherwise not qualify for a surety bond.

Get training. If you still have questions or want to get some more information about the various types of financial aid, check out the SBA’s online training center for small businesses. They will help you determine exactly what kinds of steps you need to take to avail yourself of Recovery Act and SBA funding.

Apply. Once you’re familiar with the available financial opportunities and know how the system works, get down to business and start to put together a winning proposal!

But the SBA isn’t the only government source for funding. Grants.gov has a wealth of funding opportunities available to non-profits and for-profits alike. Getting funding through this site is a multi-step process that can take some time, but here are the fundamental things you’ll need to work on:

1. Register. First, you’ll need to register for the Grants.gov site in order to get a user name and password.
2. Get training. The Grants.gov site and system is relatively complex, so you’ll want to become an expert on how to use the site before diving in. This will make subsequent steps much less painful and time-consuming. The site has many user guides, FAQs, and site information to help you navigate your way through the maze.
3. Sign up for emails. The site has several listservs so that you can stay informed about various developments in the organizations. Sign up for the ones that are appropriate for your search to stay on top of timely changes and announcements.
4. Research granting opportunities. Here’s where it gets interesting! You’re now ready to explore the possible grant opportunities that are available to you. Search through the extensive list of funding options by searching with keywords, categories, agencies, and even by Recovery Act Opportunities.
5. Download and fill out the forms. Finally, you’re at the application stage! Once you’ve narrowed your list of potential grants to apply for, download the forms (each grant has its own special form) and get applying! Once you’ve filled out the forms, you submit them online and can then track the progress of your application as it goes through the system. This can take some time, so be prepared to be patient.

The Grants.gov system is another one that can be a bit complex, so if you find yourself lost, you may want to hire a grant-proposal expert to help you go through your options and narrow the results. This can also take the pressure off you and help to alleviate the stress of the various steps through the system.