Library Closed Saturday, May 25, through Monday, May 27.

Austin Public Library facilities and the Austin History Center will be CLOSED Saturday, May 25, through Monday, May 27. Recycled Reads, the Austin Public Library’s used bookstore, will be open Saturday and Sunday, but will be closed on Memorial Day.

Funding for Texas Businesses

Getting Started

Texas State Small Business Development Center
The Small Business Development Center (SBDC) works with existing and startup small companies to help in every phase of the business cycle, including financing.

1555 University Blvd. #265
Round Rock, TX 78665
(512) 716-4800
(512) 716-4810 [fax]
sbdc@txstate.edu

City of Austin Small Business Development Program
Offers training and technical assistance to anyone starting, expanding, or managing a small business.

One Texas Center, 1st Floor,
505 Barton Springs Rd.
Austin TX 78704
(512) 974-7786

Government Grants

The federal government does not normally provide grants for business startups. and grants of cash for existing businesses are virtually nonexistent. Federal government grants are designed to assist businesses, but these usually don't go directly to the business. Instead, they go to agencies and organizations, many nonprofit, which perform some service for business or benefit business in some way.

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance from the U.S. Government contains a listing of all available government grants. If you find a grant that interests you, make sure that you carefully read the section on Eligibility Requirements to find out if you would be qualified to apply for that particular grant.

SBA is a good reference source for procuring grant money from state and local programs as well as private organizations. It also provides sources of low-interest loans and venture financing from commercial lenders via federal and state government agencies.

Business Loans

Different types of financing are available at banks to small business owners. The major items that most lenders will require when you apply for a loan are: legal papers to establish ownership of the business; description and history of the business; resumes of owners and managers of the business; current personal financial statements of owner, partners, officers of the business; business plan; tax returns for the previous three (3) years; current financial statement of the business; list of proposed uses of the loan; list of assets and debts of the company; list of collateral of the company.

Qualifying for such loans at a bank may be difficult, particularly for start-up companies. Listed below are other lending organizations that offer loans to businesses that may not be eligible for conventional bank loans.

ACCION Texas
Nonprofit organization provides credit to small businesses that do not have any current bankruptcies, have either an established (1 year old) business or an alternate source of income, and do not have access to loans from commercial sources. Lends $500-$25,000 to existing businesses or start-ups.

912 S. Highway 183
Austin, TX 78741
(866) 312-3771

Business Investment Growth, BiGAUSTIN
BiGAUSTIN is a nonprofit Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) that provides training and loans to small businesses, especially minority- and women-owned businesses, in Central Texas. Provides up to $15,000 to start-ups and up to $50,000 for established businesses.

1050 East 11th Street Ste 350
Austin, TX 78702
(512) 928-8010

Capital CDC
Capital CDC is the largest, top ranked Certified Development Corporation in Texas providing SBA 504 loans for fixed assets such as land or buildings.

Wild Basin One, 110 Wild Basin Road, Suite 270
Austin, TX 78746
(512) 327-9229

PeopleFund
PeopleFund provides flexible loans to small businesses and non-profit organizations.

2921 E. 17th Street
Building D, Suite 1
Austin, TX 787022
512.472.8087

Small Business Ad ministration
SBA operates a number of programs that are specifically designed to assist small businesses in obtaining financing from lending institutions. You must go through the normal application process for an SBA loan, and you must supply all the pertinent records required, as listed above.

727 E. Durango, Room A-527
San Antonio, TX 78206
(210) 472-5900

Texas Economic Development Department
The Texas Small Business Fund provides financing to foster and stimulate the development of small businesses in Texas.

Office of the Governor
P.O. Box 12428, Austin, Texas 78711
Austin, TX 78711
(512) 463-2000

Texas Product/Business Fund
Preference for funding is given to the states' defined industry clusters including, but not limited to: nanotechnology, biotechnology, biomedicine, renewable-energy, agriculture, and aerospace.

Venture Capital

There are private investors with money to invest in deals that might bring a higher return for their money, or benefit society. These people are generally difficult to locate, have investment advisors who screen their deals, and usually want to remain anonymous. Venture Capital can be government sponsored (SBIC), small funds made up of individual investors, large funds with institutional money, or corporate venture capital companies.

Pratt's Guide to Private Equity & Venture Capital Sources Faulk Central Library, Business Information Center, 2nd floor
Main section lists venture capital firms by state. Information provided for listed firms includes type of firm; managers, staff, and contact people; and investing criteria and preferences (industry preference, geographic preference).

Small Business Investment Company (SBIC)
SBICs, licensed and regulated by the SBA, are privately owned and managed investment firms that use their own capital, plus funds borrowed at favorable rates with an SBA guarantee, to make venture capital investments in small businesses.

Information Guide Subject:

Business