Financing
Your Business

General Resources

Fueling Your Business in North Carolina: A Guide to Financing for Small Businesses - From the NC Rural Economic Development Center.
Capital Opportunities for Small Businesses - From the Small Business and Technology Development Center.
NCEDA Economic Development Handbook - From the North Carolina Economic Developers Association.
One North Carolina Small Business Program - This program helps support North Carolina businesses that have received and/or are applying for a Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR) or Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Program award by the corresponding U.S. government program.
One North Carolina Fund - The One North Carolina Fund helps recruit and expand quality jobs in high value-added, knowledge-driven industries. This performance-based incentive grant is designed to help businesses or industries deemed vital to a healthy economy that are making significant efforts to expand in North Carolina.
Job Development Investment Grants - The JDIG program is a discretionary incentive that provides sustained annual grants to new and expanding businesses measured against a percentage of withholding taxes paid by new employees. The program stimulates economic activity and creates new jobs by promoting the expansion of existing business and industry and by recruiting and attracting new business and industry.

NC Green Business Fund - Awards competitive grants to North Carolina organizations with innovative projects focused on three priority areas:
1. biofuels
2. green building industry
3. clean technology and renewable energy products
NC Biofuels Center - Awards grants to companies that grow North Carolina's biofuels industry.
State Energy Office - North Carolina's lead agency for energy programs and services and serves as the official source for energy information and assistance for consumers, businesses, government agencies, community colleges and schools and the residential, commercial and industrial sectors.

Golden Leaf Foundation - Awards grants to projects that promote economic growth in North Carolina. Priority grants making areas have traditionally been agriculture, job creation, and workforce preparedness. Additional funding for education and community assistance initiatives complements those areas.
NC Rural Center Business Loan Programs - The Rural Center runs two innovative programs that provide capital for business start-ups and expansions. The Microenterprise Loan Program serves the smallest rural businesses through a combination of loans, business planning and technical assistance. The Rural Venture Fund, announced in 2007, offers investments ranging from equity to subordinated debt for qualified businesses in economically distressed counties of North Carolina.
NC Main Street Center - Provides guidance and technical assistance to small and rural towns that need help with downtown development.

Federal Government - Search for grants available from the federal government.
Department of Defense SBIR/STTR - Funds a billion dollars each year in early-stage R&D projects at small technology companies -- projects that serve a DoD need and have commercial applications.

For additional information about other sources of financing and capital, please see http://www.blnc.gov/financing_capital.asp.