Alternative funding resources for your business

To stay afloat in today’s economy, businesses must consider new sources of revenue by looking at alternative funding. But, how are we supposed to know what funding sources are reliable? I decided to explore new funding options by considering alternative funding websites.

The Community Development Venture Capital Alliance (cdvca.org) invests in low-wealth communities and businesses that need social and financial assistance. CDVC funds help businesses gain customers, come up with marketing plans, and provide other means of financing in an attempt to build a successful business. To obtain funding, I recommend looking over fund profiles of industry leaders, and attend the introductory training sessions to gain necessary exposure. For a better chance at obtaining financing through CDVCA, your business should be poised for both financial and social returns. Your business will be more appealing if it is located in a low to moderate-income area where equity financing is not readily available. CDVCA also focuses on businesses that have great ideas, good management, provide numerous jobs with good wages, offer employee benefits, have marketing skills, and have strong growth potential. Having the former qualifications give the investors a greater return on investment and benefits the low-income community.

The Opportunity Finance Network (opportunityfinance.net) is another great alternative funding resource. Like CDVCA, The Opportunity Finance Network (OFN) benefits businesses in low-income communities that are outside the economic mainstream. OFN’s mission is developing communities in areas of childcare, healthcare, and education, and helping small businesses. To obtain OFN financing, a business must fill out a short application with its financial requests. The business must also provide a business plan with audited and interim financial statements, resumes of the staff, and a loan portfolio.

Through the examination of the former websites, I learned to not just focus on one potential funding resource. There are other ways of alternative funding, such as endowment funds, government grant programs (grants.gov), social and community fundraisers (philanthropyjournal.org, philanthropy.com), and private/local foundations. The Foundation Directory (fconline.foundationcenter.org) costs money to use, but cof.org/locator tells you what charitable foundations are located in your community and would be a good fit for your business. People dismiss these funding options because they require a lot of hard work, but if you are dedicated to seeing your business thrive, I would recommend taking a look at all of your options.