Small business grant directory on Funding Fastlane

Federal small business grants

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The main federal programs for for-profit small businesses

Program	Who it is for	Typical amount	Where
SBIR / STTR (America’s Seed Fund)	Businesses under 500 employees doing R&D with commercial potential; 11 participating agencies (NIH, NSF, DoD, DOE, NASA, USDA and more)	Phase I ~$50k–$300k; Phase II up to ~$2M	sbir.gov
STEP (State Trade Expansion Program)	Small businesses starting or growing exports; administered through state agencies	Reimburses export activities, often $2k–$25k	sba.gov/step
USDA Rural Business Development / Value-Added Producer Grants	Rural businesses and agricultural producers	up to $250k+ depending on program	rd.usda.gov
REAP (Rural Energy for America)	Rural small businesses and ag producers installing renewable energy or efficiency upgrades	up to 50% of project cost	rd.usda.gov
EDA and MBDA programs	Usually flow to organizations that then support businesses; some direct opportunities	varies	eda.gov, mbda.gov

Amounts change each fiscal year. Confirm on the agency page before planning around a figure.

State and local business grants

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Why local beats federal for most businesses

Federal grants fund research and specific missions. State and local grants fund your kind of business: the café that needs a new awning, the shop hiring two people, the contractor buying an electric van. Applicant pools are smaller and eligibility is about location and impact, not patents.

The recurring program types

Type	Who runs it	Typical amount	What it pays for
Storefront / façade improvement	cities, downtown development districts	$2k – $50k, often matching	signage, exteriors, ADA access, lighting
Job creation incentives	state economic development agencies	$1k – $10k per job, or tax credits	hiring and training
Energy efficiency rebates	utilities and state energy offices	10–70% of project	lighting, HVAC, refrigeration, EV chargers
Small business recovery / resilience	states and counties after disasters or downturns	$5k – $25k	working capital, repairs
Microenterprise grants	community development agencies (often CDBG-funded)	$2k – $15k	equipment, inventory, marketing for very small businesses
Rural and Main Street programs	state commerce departments	$5k – $100k	revitalization projects in designated areas
Workforce training grants	state labor departments	covers training cost	upskilling existing staff

How to find them fast

Your state’s economic development agency site, “small business” section.
Your city and county economic development pages, and the downtown business association.
Your utility. Commercial rebates are underused and nearly automatic.
Your SBDC (find one via sba.gov). Ask: “What grants have your clients actually received this year?”
Your state’s SBIR outreach and export (STEP) offices if you are in tech or manufacturing.

Timing

Many local programs open once a year and close when funds run out, sometimes in days. Get on the mailing lists now, have your master application ready, and apply on day one.

Private and corporate small business grants

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How these programs work

Corporations run grant programs for brand and community reasons. That means applications reward a clear story, a specific plan for the money, and a business people can root for. They are open to almost any legal for-profit business, which is exactly what federal programs are not.

Recurring programs worth tracking

Programs change annually; always check the official page for current dates, amounts and eligibility. These have run for multiple years:

Grants for women-owned businesses

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Grant programs that recur

Program	Award	Notes
Amber Grant (WomensNet)	$10,000 monthly; $25,000 year-end	Simple application, small fee, one of the longest-running
Cartier Women’s Initiative	up to $100,000	Impact-driven, early-stage, global, highly competitive
IFundWomen grants	varies by partner (Visa, Caress and others)	Rolling corporate-sponsored rounds
Galaxy Grants (Hidden Star)	small cash awards	Quarterly, women and minority owners
Tory Burch Foundation Fellows	education plus grant	Annual cohort, US women entrepreneurs
SBA Women’s Business Centers	technical assistance, local grant leads	100+ centers, free counseling

Certification worth more than a grant

WBENC (private sector): unlocks supplier-diversity programs at Fortune 500 companies.
SBA WOSB / EDWOSB (federal): eligibility for set-aside federal contracts in industries where women are underrepresented. Free to self-certify through the SBA portal.

Lending programs

Many CDFIs and microlenders run women-focused loan funds with coaching attached. Ask your local Women’s Business Center which ones are active. If you have 6+ months of deposits, also run the 60-second match; several of our partners weight time in business and revenue over collateral.

Grants for minority-owned businesses

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Recurring grant programs

Program	Award	Notes
Comcast RISE	monetary, tech and marketing grants	annual, selected metros, historically prioritized diverse owners
Galaxy Grants (Hidden Star)	small cash awards	quarterly
Fast Break for Small Business (LegalZoom / NBA)	$10,000 plus legal services	annual
Backing Small Businesses (American Express / Main Street America)	$10,000+	annual, historically for under-resourced communities
Coalition to Back Black Businesses	$5,000, plus $25,000 enhancement grants	annual (Black-owned)
Hello Alice and partner funds	$5k – $25k	rolling rounds, many aimed at underrepresented owners
Local foundation and community grants	$1k – $10k	check community foundations in your metro

Free help that moves the needle

MBDA Business Centers (mbda.gov): free consulting, access to capital, and help winning contracts.
SBA 8(a) Business Development: a 9-year program for socially and economically disadvantaged owners that unlocks sole-source federal contracts. Contracting can be worth far more than grants.
NMSDC certification: supplier-diversity access to corporate buyers.

Capital

CDFIs (community development financial institutions) exist to lend where banks do not. Rates are reasonable and underwriting is human. Find one via the CDFI Fund locator. For faster options once you have 6+ months of revenue, the 60-second match will show what applies.

Grants and funding for veteran-owned businesses

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Grant programs

Program	Award	Notes
Second Service Foundation Military Entrepreneur Challenge	$4k – $15k pitch competition	multiple rounds a year
Warrior Rising	grants plus mentoring	veteran “vetrepreneurs”
StreetShares Foundation (Veteran Small Business Award)	up to $15k	annual, check current status
Hivers and Strivers	angel investment	veteran-led startups (equity, not a grant)
FedEx, Comcast RISE, Hello Alice rounds	$5k – $50k	general programs that often flag veteran owners

Free programs that pay off

SBA Veterans Business Outreach Centers (VBOC): free counseling and the Boots to Business course.
SBA Veteran Small Business Certification: unlocks federal contracting set-asides. Veteran-owned contracting is a multibillion-dollar channel.
SBA Express loans for veterans: historically the upfront guarantee fee is waived (confirm current terms on sba.gov).
VR&E self-employment track: for eligible service-connected disabled veterans, can fund a business plan including equipment.

Lending

Several lenders and CDFIs run veteran-focused loan funds with coaching. If your business already has revenue, the 60-second match shows which products fit today while grant and contracting applications run in the background.

How to apply for small business grants and actually win

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Set expectations

Grants are a numbers game with low odds per application. Treat them as a side channel worth 2–4 hours a month, not a plan for next quarter’s payroll. Run the 60-second funding match in parallel so the business has options while applications are pending.

Step 1: Build a master application once

Write these once, in a document you reuse:

Business in one sentence. What you sell, to whom, where.
Founder story in five sentences. Why you, why this.
The plan for the money in one paragraph, with a number. “$10,000 buys X, which produces Y by Z.”
Impact numbers. Jobs, customers served, revenue growth, community ties.
Three photos and a 60-second phone video. Corporate programs are judged by marketing teams.
Documents folder: EIN letter, business license, last two tax returns, a one-page P&L, bank letter, W-9.

Step 2: Pick programs you can win

Score each program 1–5 on: eligibility fit, geographic fit, award size versus effort, and story fit. Skip anything under 12/20. Prioritize:

How to spot business grant and loan scams

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The seven red flags

A fee to receive a grant. Government grants never charge. Legitimate private programs occasionally charge a small application fee (the Amber Grant does), but never a “release”, “processing” or “insurance” fee after you win.
Guaranteed approval. No real grant or lender guarantees anything before underwriting.
Unsolicited contact. Agencies do not cold-call, text or DM you about free money.
Pressure and secrecy. “Offer expires in one hour”, “do not tell your bank”.
Requests for bank login credentials rather than statements. Real lenders use read-only verification services or ask for PDFs.
Payment by gift card, wire, crypto or peer-to-peer app.
Lookalike domains like usa-grants-gov.com or sba-grants.org. Official sites end in .gov.

How legitimate funding actually works

Government grants: you find the program on an agency site or Grants.gov, apply through the official portal, and hear back weeks or months later. Free.
Private grants: you apply on the sponsor’s page. Awards are announced publicly.
Lenders and funders: you submit an application and bank statements; if approved, fees are disclosed in the agreement and deducted from proceeds. No prepayment.
Matching services like ours: free to you; we are paid by partners. We never ask you for money and never ask for account passwords. See our disclosures.

If you already paid

Contact your bank or card issuer immediately to dispute.
Report to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov and to your state attorney general.
Change any passwords you shared and set up bank alerts.

Where to get real help

Free, official small-business help: your local SBDC, SCORE chapter, Women’s Business Center, VBOC or MBDA center via sba.gov/local-assistance. Funding options you actually qualify for: the 60-second match.