Eric Tomasso
Here are some grants and loans that can help you achieve that goal of financial independence.
Perhaps the biggest obstacle for felons is finding a job. According to statistics, 60 percent of formerly incarcerated people are unemployed for at least 12 months after their release. And those who do get jobs tend to earn 40 percent less than the rest of the population. Add children into the mix, and it becomes rather evident that felons have a tough hill to climb when making a sufficient income to support their families.
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Background checks and explaining why you have a felony on your record can make getting a job quite challenging. One of the most popular workarounds for this issue is to start your own business. These grants and loans can give you the funding to do so, despite having a felony on your record.
Where To Find Grants And Loans For Felons
You could find funding in the form of grants and loans to start your own business by trying the following resources and programs known to work with felons in the past.
Your City, County, And State
Google will be your friend for finding felon-friendly small business grants in your city, county, or state. It may take some time, but search Google for small business grants near you. As you see results, read the requirements for each to see if they mention felonies, criminal records, or background checks. If not, you should be good to go.
The Federal Government
Some federal grants exist that could help you start a small business or advance your career via schooling or training. You can find small business grants from the federal government on Grants.gov. You could also apply for a Pell Grant to pay for a portion of your college expenses.
GrantWatch
GrantWatch has a giant database of grants to help people start their own businesses and more. It features over 1,000 small business grants and over 20,000 grant programs that could give you a heads-up on free money to get your life headed in the right direction. You’ll need to pay a subscription to see complete grant descriptions, but there is a free membership to start searching for what’s out there.
Online Lenders
Some online lenders offer personal loans that can be used to fund your own business. Best of all, some of these lenders work with people with no credit or bad credit, and some do not run background checks, making your felony a non-issue. Examples of lenders that offer small business loans include OnDeck, BlueVine, Kabbage, Fundbox, National Funding, Biz2Credit, and Rapid Finance.
Small Business Administration Microloans
Some felons have had luck with getting up to $50,000 “microloans” from the Small Business Administration. But while your record may not be an issue, you will have to meet other requirements, such as having collateral on hand.
Julia Anderson
