Grants for Your Small Freelance Writing Business
A Home Business Article Contributed by Sharon Hill
Getting a Grant for Your Small Freelance Writing Business
There are several types of writing grants available to you as a small business owner. The first criteria for eligibility, however, is that you be a writer. Seems obvious, but what this means is that in order to qualify for a writing grant you must have published - and the more the better. So, prior to applying for your first grant you need something in print. Even if it's a non-paying assignment, strive to publish as much as possible prior to your small business grant application process begins.
Types of Small Business Writing Grants
Writing grants fall into four different categories: Residency, Conference, Writing and Research.
A small business residency grant is an opportunity to be fed and housed in a quiet, communal setting whose purpose is to free you from the noise and distractions of every day life. While there are many residency grants available many - if not most - requiring something from you in return. You may be asked, for example, to speak about your writing experiences or even, in the case of collegiate residencies, to teach a course.
The Ucross Foundation, for instance, offers a 22,000 acre Wyoming Ranch, with individual studios for writers, painters, sculptors, choreographers, musicians and performance artists. Applicants can request a residency of 2, 4, 6 or 8 weeks. The writer small business grant application must include a writing sample and three letters of reference from professionals familiar with the writer's work.
Another, the Anderson Center Residency is the largest artistic residency program in Minnesota. Awarded to 45 dancers, poets, archeologists, painters, historians, scholars, translators, photographers and even anthropologists, the program requires that grant recipients conduct a performance, give a talk or teach a class during their 2-4 week stay.
Conference grants offer a writer the opportunity to hone their craft with the help of experts - educators, successful authors and others - but also to meet and mingle with editors, publishers, agents and others who can help advance their career.
The Sewanee Writers Conference, on Tennessee land donated by playwright Tennessee Williams, offers a limited number of small business writing grants in the form of fellowships and scholarships to attend. Generally the grant amount is for $800 or more - at least two thirds of the cost of attendance. To be eligible a writer must have published in periodicals or have a book published by a traditional publisher.
Novel writing grants include the NEA (federal government's National Endowment for the Arts) Funding for Arts on Radio and Television, and the Constance Saltonstall Foundation for the Arts which awards $5000 to writers and others New York artists.
Research grants include the Dorothy and Lewis B.Cullman Scholarship for Writers - a $50, 000 grant that requires writers to be in residence at the New York center for the entire 9 months, during which grant recipients devote full time efforts to their research.
Other Small Business Grant Resources
Some grants are designated not for the venture itself, but for the recipients. Many may specify eligibility as residents of a city, county or state, while others may offer grants to specific ethnic groups, minorities or other disadvantaged groups. One example is the Women's Financial Fund, www.womensbusinessgrants.com , offering New Business Grants of $100-$5000 and Existing Business Grants of $1000-$5000 for women who wish to expand their business.
