government grant money

[grass disaster]

are there any grants out there for the lawn service guys?

dear gov. i would like about $10000 for a new mower and i promise to pay my taxes.

 

[walker-talker]

You can search, but you won't have any luck....and don't buy into that Matthew Lester (I think that's his name), the guy with all the question marks on his clothes and acts real dorky.....it's a scam.

 

[GreenUtah]

You want government money? Keep your eye on your local legal notices, bid on the work in your arena and area, do the work, get the money. The nice part of contracting with govt agencies, if you are qualified to do so, means a set term contract that you won't needing to be worried about being undercut or sold out of during it's duration. These are perfect for getting lending the old fashioned way for that equipment you'll be wanting. Otherwise, you can contact your local SBA office and go through the process.

 

[chimmygew]

I have wanted to bid on government jobs, but am unsure where to find them. Where or how do I find them?

 

[topsites]

I have wanted to bid on government jobs, but am unsure where to find them. Where or how do I find them?

I am also interested in this and so I went to my County's Web site and looked around for a bit and eventually contacted one of the clerks, who fired me back an email which states:

The Purchasing Department is a service organization that has the
responsibility of centralized procurement of commodities, services,
construction and professional services for our County and
Public Schools. You can find more information by either visiting
the Web site, or by contacting the Purchasing Department directly.

Things surely vary from county to county, but if I were you, I would head in the direction of your seat of government, likely somewhere around the County Courthouse, or if they have a Web site, that may work, too.

Far as the rest of the thread concerning some free money, I am afraid that might be out of the question thou something may be found under Small Business Loans, or perhaps Small Business Assistance, but I am certain a free ride it isn't.

 

[gslawncare]

I have found gov. affiliate bid invitations in the Sun times and Tribune. newspapers. Metra(suburb trains system), CTA(city trains), parkways for various towns. The other guy above was most correct though. You have to go into the main offices and start asking.

 

[GreenUtah]

Alright, let me expand on this topic then, since it looks like this will be the turn it's taking. Governmental bidding is a huge, convulated mess when it comes to trying to ferret out all the opportunities that may exist in your service area for the scope of services that you offer, especially true if you have a full service company offering installation and maintenance on a commercial scale. The reason is, each level and entity of government, from the local sewer/water district, city, county, state, feds, special districts, quasi governmental agencies, et al, have their own procurement rules and regulations that govern what triggers an actual bid opportunity and how that opportunity is broadcasted. To complicate things further, certain dollar amount thresholds or types of services may not even need an open bidding process, but rather just a selection among approved vendors. Other entities may piggyback on contracts made through purchases done at a higher level of government, for example cities, counties or school districts buying through an open state contract that wasn't inially set up to include them. Looking for bidding opportunities in itself can be a full time job. The best way to get your feet wet in this arena though is to:
a) watch the legal notices in your local papers. Tehre are always going to be dollar amounts that trigger an open bidding process and that will include giving legal notice to the public.
b) identify the procurement offices of local agencies, get on their vendor list and/or watch their web sites for new listings.
c) ask around, especially to dept leaders that may have a need to sub with you. It never hurts to be interested in working..lol...just make sure you're not a pest about it, they have other work to do too.
d) you can subscribe to a contract watching service, but since these are generally geared at large & national scaled type things, don't expect to get a lot of info about small local jobs, the kind you are most likely to have a shot at.
If you are a minority or veteran owned company, there are also additional resources available to you for working the governmental bid process, including, in some cases, set asides. Contact the local Small Business Administration office in your area, it can be found through their website or in your phone book and let them help you out through some of the processes.