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crystalblood oath
1,569 PointsI want to apply for a grant but im 13 years old and my local enterprise office said i need a limited company or a ...
or a private business is it possible for me to get either one of these if not is there any way i could make it work
im in ireland by the way
Thank you
4 Answers
I Dilate
3,983 PointsHey Crystalblood,
That's an interesting question! And I'd like to say it's so amazing that you're so motivated at the age of 13. Good for you.
However, your question is probably impossible for us to answer without a lot more information.
What organisation / funding body are you intending to apply for a grant from? And what type of grant... i.e: to do what? study? start a business? develop a project?
Each organisation will publish strict guidelines to say who exactly is eligible for funding under their grants programme, and will also detail their application process.
I'd say that you're unlikely to find a single rule that applies across the board.
Some funding bodies exist specifically to support individuals, while others are set up to support small businesses, and others for businesses of a certain minimum size, and so forth. You'd need to search to find one with criteria that fits you and your intended goal.
I hope that helps in some way, Rich
P.S. If you find that you're excluded from applying directly to grant funding bodies because of your age or because you don't want to set up a limited company, you may also consider setting up some kind of crowdfunding page using a platform like Kickstarter for your idea (that assumes it's a project you want to fund). However, you'd need to check their terms of service to see if a minimum age applies too.
I Dilate
3,983 PointsHi again Crystalblood,
No problem, glad to be of help.
I don't know much about Priming Grants (and I live in the UK, not the ROI) but I just took a quick look on the national LEO site and it states that they only fund registered business entities - but you can be a sole trader, so you don't necessarily have to run a limited company.
citizensinformation.ie looks like it provides some good information to help you find out how you can start a business to take it further.
Anyway, I think you may have to wait until you've hit 14 to take your first step forward with it though, as according to this you can't legally work in Ireland until the age of 14, and even then you're limited to school holidays only (moves up to 8 hrs per week maximum during term time when you're 15).
Also, the rules stated by LEO and their eligibility criteria are a bit confusing. You'd be best speaking to them face to face (or over the phone) to get some direction I think. Beware things like where they say they provide up to 50% of the investment - which may mean you must match-fund any grant they give you with 50% funding from elsewhere... something that may be tough if you don't have substantial savings (at 13 I can't imagine you will) or if some private investor (maybe your family) can't put in the same amount.
It feels like a complicated area - hence I really think you should speak to them directly for some advice. And be clear that you're 13 - I would hope that they would try very hard to answer your questions.
Definitely consider the crowdfunding route. If your idea is good and you can get it infront of enough people (that's the real challenge) then your age is unlikely to matter.
crystalblood oath
1,569 Pointsthanks again
I Dilate
3,983 PointsSure.
Hey one last thing. In the UK, when I was at school we had a thing called Young Enterprise that some of my good friends really enjoyed taking part in. They learned a lot about what's involved in running a business, and got some good advice and experience from it.
In ROI the equivalent is called Student Enterprise. You may find that your school offers a chance to get involved with it.
Even if you don't like the look of it, they might still be a good starting point to help you map a way forward whilst still studying. Probably good people to send an email to ask for specific advice.
crystalblood oath
1,569 PointsYes my school has mentioned that i am signing up next year
I Dilate
3,983 PointsAwesome, good luck :)
crystalblood oath
1,569 Pointscrystalblood oath
1,569 Pointsthanks so much this was very helpful
crystalblood oath
1,569 Pointscrystalblood oath
1,569 PointsAlso im applying for a Priming grant for a app idea. Ive been learning how to code with teamtreehouse and i need funding to hire developers for my idea