Capital & Financing

Grants

Understand grants (money you don't repay and don't give up equity for) and why "free money" still has real costs in time, restrictions, and compliance that make it a supplement, not a dependable engine.

  • Intermediate
  • 13 min total
  • 13 chapters

What decision this helps you make: Whether to pursue a grant, recognizing genuinely non-dilutive capital, but only for the right eligible project, not as a primary funding source.

What this topic is

A grant is money awarded to a business (by a government, foundation, or institution) that doesn't have to be repaid and doesn't require giving up equity: genuinely non-dilutive, non-debt capital.

Why it matters

It costs no ownership and no repayment, which is uniquely valuable. But "free money" is misleading: grants take real time to win, are earmarked for specific purposes, and carry reporting and compliance obligations. Great for a specific eligible project; not a reliable primary funding source.

Who should learn it

Businesses with a specific, eligible project a grantor wants to fund.

What you will understand

  • Understand grants as non-dilutive, non-repayable capital
  • See the real costs behind "free money"
  • Know why grants are a supplement, not an engine
  • Pursue them for the right eligible project

Prerequisites

Common misconception

"A grant is free money. I should build my funding plan around chasing grants." A grant is genuinely non-dilutive and non-repayable, a real gift in that sense. But it's not free: it takes weeks of competitive, uncertain work to win, is earmarked for a specific purpose (not free to spend), and comes with reporting and compliance obligations. Grants are excellent for the right eligible project, but competitive, uncertain, restricted, and slow, so they're a supplement, not a dependable engine you can build a business on.