50 Small Business Grants and Funding Programs in the US

These federal, state and private programs give small businesses in the United States grants, loans, loan guarantees, tax credits or investment. Several federal and state programs pay lenders, nonprofits or state governments, which then serve small businesses, so for those a business works with the local partner rather than the agency. Rules, amounts and deadlines change, so check a program's current terms before you apply.

1. 1 SBA 7(a) loans, run by the U.S. Small Business Administration through its lenders, are for operating for-profit small businesses and go up to $5 million.
2. 2 SBA 504 loans, run by the U.S. Small Business Administration with nonprofit Certified Development Companies, give small businesses long-term, fixed rate financing of up to $5 million for major fixed assets, and the maximum loan amount is $5.5 million.
3. 3 SBA Microloans, run by the U.S. Small Business Administration through nonprofit intermediary lenders, give small businesses and certain not-for-profit child care centers up to $50,000, and the average is about $13,000.
4. 4 SBA disaster loans, from the U.S. Small Business Administration, are low-interest loans for businesses of any size and most private nonprofits to recover after a declared disaster, with up to $2 million for qualified businesses.
5. 5 SBA-licensed Small Business Investment Companies, which are private investment funds, put debt and equity into small businesses, and a typical loan runs from $250,000 to $10 million.
6. 6 The SBA Surety Bond Guarantee program, run by the U.S. Small Business Administration through authorized surety companies, guarantees bid, performance and payment bonds so small businesses can win contracts.
7. 7 State Trade Expansion Program (STEP) grants, run by the U.S. Small Business Administration, go to state and territory governments, which then help established small businesses that want to export, for example through trade missions.
8. 8 SBIR and STTR, the federal small business research programs run by participating agencies under SBA policy, let an agency award up to $323,090 in Phase I and $2,153,927 in Phase II without SBA approval as of April 2026.
9. 9 NSF America's Seed Fund, run by the National Science Foundation, backs small businesses building deep technology, with Phase I awards of up to $305,000 and Phase II awards of up to $1,250,000.
10. 10 USDA's SBIR and STTR programs, run by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, give small businesses research grants in agriculture of up to $175,000 for most Phase I topics and up to $600,000 for Phase II.
11. 11 The EPA's SBIR program, run by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, is for small businesses with green technology ideas and pays up to $100,000 for a six-month Phase I proof of concept.
12. 12 NASA's SBIR and STTR programs, run by NASA as part of America's Seed Fund, are for small businesses developing early-stage technology and offer non-dilutive funding.
13. 13 The Pentagon's SBIR and STTR programs, overseen by its Office of the Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering, are for domestic small businesses doing research and development and are mandated set-asides in federal research funding.
14. 14 The Department of Energy's SBIR and STTR programs, which DOE runs as one of 11 participating federal agencies, work with small technology firms on scientific and engineering problems through Phase I and Phase II funding announcements.

15. 15 Value-Added Producer Grants, run by USDA Rural Development, are for independent agricultural producers and producer groups, with planning grants up to $50,000 and working capital grants up to $200,000, and a 1:1 match is required.
16. 16 The Rural Energy for America Program, run by USDA Rural Development, gives agricultural producers and rural small businesses energy efficiency grants of up to $500,000 and renewable energy system grants of up to $1 million.
17. 17 The Business and Industry Guaranteed Loan program, run by USDA Rural Development, backs lender loans to rural businesses, and loans approved in fiscal year 2026 get an 85 percent guarantee below $5,000,000 and 80 percent at $5,000,000 or more.
18. 18 The Intermediary Relending Program, run by USDA Rural Development, lends to local intermediaries that relend to rural businesses, and the most a final recipient can borrow is the lesser of $400,000 or 50% of the intermediary loan.
19. 19 The Rural Microentrepreneur Assistance Program, run by USDA Rural Development, funds microenterprise lenders, with technical assistance grants up to $100,000 a year and loans of $50,000 to $500,000, so they can lend up to $50,000 to rural microbusinesses.
20. 20 Rural Business Development Grants, run by USDA Rural Development, go to public bodies, Tribes and rural nonprofits for small business training and technical assistance, and for-profit businesses cannot apply directly.
21. 21 Operating Microloans, run by the USDA Farm Service Agency, are for beginning farmers, small-scale producers and niche farm operations and go up to $50,000 per loan.
22. 22 The Local Agriculture Market Program, run by the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service, supports direct producer-to-consumer marketing, local food enterprises and value-added agricultural products.
23. 23 The State Small Business Credit Initiative, run by the U.S. Treasury, is a nearly $10 billion program that sends funds to states and Tribes for their own small business financing programs.
24. 24 The CDFI Program, run by the Treasury Department's CDFI Fund, gives awards to community lenders (CDFIs), and in fiscal year 2024 its awardees financed more than 109,000 businesses.
25. 25 The New Markets Tax Credit Program, run by the Treasury Department's CDFI Fund, uses tax credits to attract private investment to distressed communities, and it has awarded $91 billion to certified community development entities since 2002.

26. 26 Build to Scale, run by the Economic Development Administration, funds organizations that help entrepreneurs build and scale technology-driven businesses.
27. 27 The EXIM Working Capital Loan Guarantee, run by the Export-Import Bank of the United States, helps exporters borrow to fill sales orders, and it can also back bid and performance bonds.

28. 28 The Texas Enterprise Fund, run by the Office of the Texas Governor, gives deal-closing grants to companies whose new project has a Texas site competing with out-of-state sites.
29. 29 The New York State Small Business Revolving Loan Fund Round 2, run by Empire State Development, uses $63.5 million in federal funds for loans through community based lending organizations, with microloans of $500 to $25,000 and regular loans above $25,000 and up to $20,000,000.
30. 30 The Micro Enterprise Loan Fund, run by Empire State Development, makes loans of up to $7,000 to minority- and women-owned businesses with no more than $100,000 in yearly gross revenue.
31. 31 The New York Innovation Matching Grants Program, run by Empire State Development, matches federal SBIR and STTR awards for New York small businesses, up to $100,000 for Phase I and $200,000 for Phase II.
32. 32 Match on Main, run by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, gives new or growing place-based small businesses up to $25,000 through local partners.
33. 33 The Michigan State Trade Expansion Program (MI-STEP), run by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, reimburses up to $15,000 a year to businesses for exporting costs such as trade shows and shipping.
34. 34 The Arizona Microbusiness Loan Program, run by the Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity with community lenders, offers loans of $2,000 to $50,000 to qualified microbusinesses from $5 million set aside by the state.
35. 35 Fund Tennessee, run by the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development, connects small businesses to financing paid for by the federal State Small Business Credit Initiative, and Tennessee's state allocation is $60,573,813.
36. 36 The Pennsylvania Industrial Development Authority, run by the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, gives low-interest loans and lines of credit to businesses that commit to creating and keeping full-time jobs.
37. 37 The Washington State Department of Commerce offers small business lending and investment programs through the state's Small Business Credit Initiative, including companion loans of up to $5 million administered by a Heritage Bank community development entity.
38. 38 Capital Catalyst, run by the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, gives grants of $250,000 to $2 million to organizations that run seed funds for high-growth startups.
39. 39 The Kentucky Small Business Tax Credit, run by the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development, gives $3,500 to $25,000 a year to small businesses that add a job and buy at least $5,000 of equipment or technology.
40. 40 The Utah Economic Assistance Grant, administered by Utah's GOED, gives one-time, project-based awards of up to $200,000 to Utah businesses.
41. 41 The Advanced Industries Accelerator, run by the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade, gives grants and investment tax credits to Colorado businesses in seven advanced industries.
42. 42 The Maryland Small Business Development Financing Authority, run by the Maryland Department of Commerce, offers financing to small businesses and is currently active with federal State Small Business Credit Initiative funds available.
43. 43 The California Competes Tax Credit, run by the California Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development, is an income tax credit for businesses of any size that want to locate or grow in California, with over $180 million available.

44. 44 The Amber Grants, run by WomensNet for women-owned businesses, give at least $30,000 every month and add three $50,000 year-end grants.
45. 45 The NASE Growth Grants, run by the National Association for the Self-Employed for its members, give up to $4,000 to a small business.
46. 46 Kiva U.S., run by the nonprofit Kiva, makes 0% interest loans of $1,000 to $15,000 to small business owners with no fees and no collateral.
47. 47 IFundWomen offers partner grants for startups and small businesses, such as the $2,500 Honeycomb Celebration Grant.
48. 48 LISC, a community development nonprofit, runs small business grants for under-resourced entrepreneurs, and with its partners it has delivered $270 million in relief grants to about 26,000 small businesses.
49. 49 Accion Opportunity Fund, a Community Advantage lender, offers small business term loans of up to $250,000 and SBA 7(a) loans of $100,000 to $350,000.
50. 50 The Founders First CDC, a nonprofit, runs the Stephen L. Tadlock Veteran Grant, a $1,000 micro-grant for veteran business owners from a total fund of $25,000.