Most new businesses are started with the primary source of capital coming from personal savings or other forms of personal equity.

The most common source of funding, banks and credit unions will provide a loan if you can show that your business is sound and meets their lending criteria. Lending institutions require that you prepare a business plan. SCORE counselors are available to review and critique your business plan.  See our Service Directory for a list of banks serving the small business community.

See the [pdf] PA Entrepreneur Guide  (view as html) for information about state sponsored financing programs.

Find grants, loans, and initiatives offered through the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development.

Allegheny County Community Development Block Grants.

These firms provide start-up and other needed money for new companies in exchange for equity or part ownership. These are usually larger enterprises.  The Pittsburgh Regional Alliance maintains a list of local Venture Capital Firms on their website.

Other information on Venture Capital:  Angel Investor News

A limited number of grants exist for specific ventures, to see a list of organizations issuing grants go to the Pittsburgh Regional Alliance.

There are over 1,000 grant programs offered by all Federal grant making agencies. Grants.gov allows organizations to electronically find and apply for more than $400 billion in Federal grants.

A “last resort” source of funds due to high interest rates charged. It is sometimes possible to take advantage of short-term windows of low interest rates by switching to new cards but this tactic requires careful attention to timelines and credit limits. In general, SCORE does not recommend utilizing personal credit cards as a source of funds.