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MINONK — Helena-Agri Enterprises awarded four Illinois high school students with $1,000 Homegrown Scholarships to pursue high education in agriculture.
The scholarships are open to high school seniors across 15 states who plan to major in an agriculture-related program, including certain counties in Missouri, North & South Dakota, and Wyoming; and the entire states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio and Wisconsin.
This year’s Illinois winners include:
Requirements for the scholarship include essays on the applicant’s positive community impact and the applicant’s passion for agriculture and plans to continue in the industry. Winners are chosen by Helena location management across their 15-state region. Applications will be available again in 2025 through school guidance counselors, ag teachers and local FFA chapters.
Visit helenaagri.com for more information.
Sawyer Cottrell, a cattle farmer and ag teacher in Illinois, is the Compeer Financial 2024 GroundBreaker of the Year.
If you’ve served in the U.S. military and you have an entrepreneurial spirit, small business grants for veterans are an invaluable resource that can help you start or grow your venture.
Next Insurance reports on how you can tap into these grants and join the ranks of nearly two million veteran-owned businesses that provide jobs to over five million Americans.
A grant is a financial award given to support business development. Unlike small business funding from loans, grants aren’t paid back, which means you can invest every dollar to advance your business goals.
These are some of the top grants designed with veterans in mind.
1. U.S. Chamber of Commerce America’s Top Small Business Awards
The America’s Top Small Business award is perfect for veterans who’ve been in the business battlefield for at least a year. If your for-profit business has fewer than 250 employees or less than $20 million in revenue over the past two years, you could compete for the grand prize: A $25,000 grant to scale your operations.
2. Warrior Rising
Warrior Rising supports veterans and their families interested in entrepreneurship and who are just starting out or looking to expand. With a grant competition and a six-step business development program, this nonprofit offers more than just funding. This “one stop shop for veterans” provides training, coaching, mentoring, funding and networking to help facilitate small business growth.
3. National Association for Self-Employed (NASE) Growth Grants
If you manage your own business, NASE Growth Grants offer $4,000 quarterly to help you expand operations. Veterans can benefit from a 15% discount on annual membership and apply for a grant as soon as they join. This organization can help businesses secure funds for marketing, advertising, staff and other business needs.
4. Stephen L. Tadlock Veteran Grant
The Stephen L. Tadlock Veteran Grant provides valuable small business grants for disabled veterans and veteran-owned small businesses with two to 100 employees. It offers microgrants that distribute $1,000 to 25 recipients annually to fund business activities. If your revenue is under $5 million, this grant could offer a financial boost to keep your business on track.
5. The Second Service Foundation
The Military Entrepreneur Challenge (MEC) is a grant program from the Second Service Foundation. It features speed coaching and a private pitch session with a judging panel for a chance to win a small business grant for veterans. Register online, participate in coaching, submit your small business grant application, and if accepted, prepare to impress with a compelling two-minute business pitch.
6. FedEx Small Business Grant Contest
The FedEx Small Business Grant Contest awards ten grants of $30,000 and provides an additional $20,000 to one of the grant recipients. To be eligible, your business should be profit-oriented, employ fewer than 99 workers and maintain a FedEx business shipping account.
7. Venmo Small Business Grant
Although not exclusively for veterans, the Venmo Small Business Grant program awards a $10,000 grant to 20 small business owners. Recipients also gain access to industry leaders for guidance and support, as well as opportunities to feature their business on Venmo’s social media platforms.
8. Farmer Veteran Fellowship Fund
For veterans pursuing a calling in agriculture, the Farmer Veteran Fellowship Fund is tailored to those in the early stages of a farm or ranch business. It offers awards from $1,000 to $5,000. You must join the Farmer Veteran Coalition to qualify, and membership grants access to a community and resources that can help support your business.
As a veteran entrepreneur, you have access to state-specific grants designed to strengthen small businesses in your local area, including:
Other small business funding opportunities include qualifying for a small business loan. These include:
To explore additional small business grants for veterans and non-veterans alike, Grants.gov is a database of over 1,000 federal funding programs from the Department of Labor, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Commerce and more.
Another resource is GrantWatch, featuring over 27,000 funding programs. Similar to Grants.gov, GrantWatch is open to a wide audience, but its search tool lets you filter veteran-specific opportunities. Browsing is free, but a paid subscription is required for full access.
This story was produced by Next Insurance and reviewed and distributed by Stacker Media.
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