Grants for Small Businesses: Your Essential Resource Guide
If you're a grant writer or consultant, you've almost certainly gotten this question from a small business owner: "Are there any grants out there for us?" It's a fair question, and it puts you in an interesting spot, because small business grants work differently than the nonprofit and government funding you're used to navigating, and your client is often hoping for more than what's realistically out there.
I put together this guide so you have a real answer ready the next time a client asks, current programs you can point them to, along with the same due-diligence tips you'd give any applicant. A note on how to use this list: grant programs from corporations and platforms change constantly, application windows open and close, amounts shift, and some programs retire entirely. Always confirm current details on the funder's own site before a client invests time in an application, and set expectations early that small business grants are typically smaller, more competitive, and less predictable than the nonprofit funding they may be used to hearing about from you.
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Tips to share with a small business client
Make sure they understand the grant's purpose. Each program has specific goals, and a client's project needs to genuinely align with those objectives, not just be reworded to sound like it does.
Walk through eligibility together before they get attached to an idea. Small business grants often carry narrow eligibility (revenue caps, employee counts, ownership requirements), and catching a mismatch early saves everyone time.
Help them build a proposal that's specific, not just enthusiastic. Encourage a clear business plan, defined objectives, and concrete detail about the impact the funding will have, not just excitement about the opportunity.
Get supporting documentation gathered early. Financial statements, business plans, and any letters of support take time to assemble, and clients often underestimate this.
Hold the line on instructions. A missed formatting requirement or late submission can mean automatic disqualification no matter how strong the proposal is.
Offer, or recommend, a second set of eyes before submission. A fresh read catches what's invisible to the person who wrote it.
Set realistic expectations about persistence. Small business grants are competitive, and a decline isn't a verdict on the business. Frame it as one attempt in an ongoing strategy, not a single make-or-break shot.
Available grant opportunities
Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Programs, also known as America's Seed Fund
Through SBIR and STTR, America's Seed Fund awards non-dilutive funding to develop your technology and chart a path toward commercialization. The federal government invests in your solution while you retain full ownership and control. Open to technology-focused entrepreneurs, startups, and small businesses with fewer than 500 employees.
Website: sbir.gov
Grants.gov
The federal government's central portal for grants across multiple agencies. Search and apply for funding opportunities in one place. Eligibility varies by grant.
Website: Grants.gov
Comcast RISE
Comcast RISE provides a package of support to small businesses, including a monetary grant, technology upgrades, creative production, and business consultation. Eligibility and eligible cities rotate by application cycle; the most recent round awarded 500 grant packages across five U.S. regions. The current cycle has closed, but the program continues on a rolling basis, so stay tuned for the next round of applications.
Website: Comcast RISE announcement
The Awesome Foundation
Small grants (typically $1,000) for creative projects proposed by individuals or groups. No specific eligibility requirements, making it accessible to a broad range of applicants.
Website: Awesome Foundation
National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE) Growth Grants
NASE offers grants up to $4,000 to members for business needs like marketing, hiring, or expansion. Membership is required to apply.
Website: NASE
Amazon Business: Small Business Grants
Amazon Business awards grants to support the growth of small businesses that are active Amazon Business customers.
Website: Amazon Business Grants
Etsy Emergency Relief Fund
In partnership with CERF+, a nonprofit supporting artists through emergencies and disasters, Etsy offers relief grants of up to $2,000 to sellers affected by a federally declared disaster. Applicants must have been an active, good-standing Etsy seller for at least one year.
Website: Etsy Emergency Relief Fund at CERF+
IFundWomen
IFundWomen maintains a grant application database used as the entry point for its funding opportunities. When IFundWomen partners with a brand, they match that partner's grant criteria to businesses already in the database.
Website: IFundWomen
QuickBooks Small Business Hero Program
Presented by QuickBooks and Mailchimp, this program awards a $20,000 grant to businesses in each application phase throughout the year, along with social media promotion and free access to QuickBooks and Mailchimp services.
Website: QuickBooks Grants
Venmo Small Business Grant
Venmo partners with Hello Alice and the Global Entrepreneurship Network to award $20,000 each to a small group of entrepreneurs annually. Eligibility requires an active Venmo Business Profile, fewer than 10 employees, and under $50,000 in annual sales.
Website: Venmo Small Business Grant
The UPS Store Small Biz Challenge
Now in its ninth year, this annual challenge awards a $35,000 prize pool, split between a grand prize winner and finalists, along with a feature in Inc. magazine. Open to independently owned, non-franchised U.S. businesses with nine or fewer employees. The application window typically opens in January; the most recent cycle's deadline has passed, so watch for the next opening.
Website: The UPS Store Small Biz Challenge
Other resources
Beyond the specific programs above, a few platforms are worth bookmarking on their own. They don't fund businesses directly, but they aggregate and match businesses to grant opportunities as new ones open, which makes them useful for ongoing monitoring rather than a one-time check.
Hello Alice
Hello Alice is a free platform that matches small businesses to grants, funding, and resources based on their profile. It's also the administrator behind several of the corporate-sponsored grants above, including the Venmo Small Business Grant, so creating a profile there is often the actual application gateway rather than a separate step. Worth setting up once and checking periodically, since new opportunities post regularly.
Website: helloalice.com/funding/grants
Final thoughts
The next time a small business client asks what's out there, you'll have real, current answers instead of a vague "let me look into it." Understanding this landscape and being honest about how competitive and narrow small business grants tend to be is part of what makes you the professional they came to for guidance.
If a client's proposal is ready to go but they want a second set of eyes before submitting, that's exactly where an outside review earns its keep.
Cheering you on,
Allison
