Below you will find the first hand account of one of our Complete Project Management clients in Maryland who were able to secure grant funding to help with their start up. They are a husband and wife team who started their journey to start a CNA School in July of 2021. They share their experience with obtaining their grant and some tips that lead to their success.
“When applying for grants, my husband and I had no idea where to begin. We literally started with a basic google search. We typed in “grants for new businesses in the state of MD”. After many searches nothing came up. It wasn’t until we started looking for actual rental properties that we found the grant we were awarded with. During one of our many searches, we came across a Covid Relief bill that had just passed in the state of Maryland. We found out about the “Maryland Project Restore” grant in September, through another small business owner, while we were touring rental properties.
After reading all the requirements, we found out that our business did qualify. We gathered all our materials for the application quickly. The materials included a well thought out business plan and a business that would occupy a space that had been vacant for more than 6 months.
The application was due the first week of October. So, we started touring place after place to see if any of the places we looked at qualified. After looking at 10 different places we found one that would be prefect for a CNA program but also qualified for the grant (which meant it had been vacant for more than 6 months). We immediately acquired a letter of intent from the landlord that day and submitted the application for the grant that night.
Originally, we were told that we would find out who was awarded the grant at the end of October. Well, that timeline got pushed back due to over 800 applications being submitted. We were then told we would find out mid-November. Well due to many setbacks, that time frame also got pushed back to December. We finally found out, through a mass email, on December 20th that our business was chosen for the grant!
Out of 800 applications, only 144 were chosen for the grant program. We believe one thing that set our business apart from others was a well thought out business plan. My husband and I wrote our business plan as soon as we knew we wanted to create a CNA school. The biggest piece of advice we can offer to others who are looking into applying for grants is make sure you know your business plan.
Another important tip is don’t forget to ask questions before submitting the application. When we found out about this grant program, we had a total of 2 weeks to get everything together. In those two weeks, we emailed many people all our questions about the application. We made sure we read the rules and followed them exactly as stated. One last bit of advice is to not be afraid to apply. With all new businesses you must learn to put yourself out there and this was a great opportunity we were glad we took advantage of.”
It has been a real privilege to work with this team, and we are proud to share they have actually been able to secure 2 grants to date! We are incredibly grateful that they took the time to share with us and hope that others are able to learn from them. For an in depth look at grant funding, check out our dedicated article How to Get Grant Funding for a CNA School, to learn more and decide if it is right for you.
