Definitions
Nontraditional and Alternative Funding
Nontraditional funding, also termed, alternative funding is an intuitive means to gain financial assistance. Funding sources gained by means other than resources such as banks, VCs, angels, or friends and family can typically be lumped into an example of nontraditional funding. Benjamin Ashpole is happy to discuss any or all of these funding opportunities with you, feel free to contact him.
Nontraditional funding examples commonly include federal grants, state grants, crowd-funding, and non-profit funding. Federal grants may come from the Small Business Innovative Research program offered by, for example, the Department of Defense through DARPA. Some states offer matching funds for resident companies, such as with the Indiana Economic Development Council. Non-profit funding consists of funding to provide financial support for a cause, but sometimes it may be used to acquire goods and services from for-profit start-ups. Crowd-funding is a lesser known means of funding derives from people pooling their money together offering financial support, such as through Kickstarter.com. Semi-nontraditional funding often includes collecting contracts from customers prior to the product creation as well as bootstrapping. Any of these methods can be applied boosting the chances of success for a business.
