$100,000 In-Kind Documentary Grant

AOL Time Warner Inc. and Harvard University's Department of Afro-American Studies have created a documentary completion grant competition dealing with African-American themes or issues.

One winner in each of the categories of "Current News Documentary" and "General Documentary" will be awarded a $100,000 in-kind grant ($25,000 cash and $75,000 in production services designated by HBO and CNN in their sole discretion) to be used toward the completion of their documentary film, and will be given consideration for their films to air on CNN and HBO.

Visit http://www.hbo.com/lifethroughyourlens/ for more information.

Investor Strategy

Great Projects Need Great Investment Packages
Many companies seeking private capital make the mistake of using only their business plan as a funding vehicle. While business plans are an important facet of raising capital, they are, by themselves, not designed to effectively and legally raise capital from investors.

Because most entrepreneurs are not experts in raising capital properly, they do not set up transactions with proper structure. If your core transaction structure is not set up properly, or if you are missing key items, you will appear very unprofessional to prospective investors.

Raising capital from investors — debt or equity — of any amount requires very specific documentation that far surpasses what a business plan provides. It is imperative that a company seeking capital from investors have in place a Private Placement Memorandum, a Subscription Agreement, and, in debt offerings, a Promissory Note Agreement. Raising capital without these documents is nearly impossible — they are a necessity.

Remember, as an entrepreneur, always consult an expert in securing financing and preparing appropriate documentation.