What Is Capital Funding?

Capital funds are those assigned to purchasing the resources necessary to an organization's start up and ongoing productivity. These resources are normally fixed assets, such as buildings or machinery, that will continue to serve the company over the long term. Capital funding refers to the means by which these funds can be acquired and applied.

The term capital funding is usually used to denote seed money; that is, the money needed to support a new organization's start-up costs. While expanding a business can call for fresh investment in fixed assets, also known as capital resources, the first investments are often the most crucial. Capital funding usually refers specifically to financing the income-generating resources a business requires at the outset.

Most organizations, regardless of the services or products they provide, need funding in order to become productive. This might be a very small amount or a very large one, depending on the company's objectives. If a business is successful and invests its capital funding in useful assets, these assets should quickly help generate enough income to pay back the investment of capital and to contribute to profit-making.

New business owners will sometimes misjudge which — and how many — resources are needed at the start of the operation. While it might be tempting to put most or all of one's available funding into the business' fixed assets from the start, it is prudent to save funds for emergency situations and times when finances are tight. When choosing where to invest capital funding, selecting the most valuable assets can be one of the great determiners of a business' success or failure.

Capital funding can come from a variety of sources, both private and public. It might be supplied from an entrepreneur’s own personal savings or from an already active organization that might dedicate some profits to sponsoring the new venture's development. Individual investors who make investments in organizations when institutional investors will not are sometimes referred to as "Angel Investors." This is because, after seeking capital funding unsuccessfully for a long time, its sudden provision can feel like a blessing to an entrepreneur in need.

In most countries, bank or government loans are among the most common sources of capital funding. Banks will not normally offer funding when a new venture is seen as being high risk, however. Many governments have established special kinds of loans and support for new, and particularly for first-time, business owners.