Small Business Grants

Federal and state grants are only available to support non-profit organizations, lending institutions, and state and local government programs that provide technical and financial assistance to small businesses. If your business is one of these organizations, Grants.gov provides grant opportunities available from federal agencies.

Again, federal and state government agencies do not award grants for starting, managing and expanding small businesses. However, state and local government grant opportunities may exist for small businesses engaged in very specialized activities. Many states provide job training grants to new and expanding firms. Other states provide grants to fund scientific research projects, and grants for agricultural development. For example, the New York State Dept. of Agriculture & Markets' Winery Website Improvement Grant Program provides money to state wineries and vineyards for improving their websites. The California Energy Commission's Energy Innovations Small Grant Program provides funds to small businesses to conduct research that establishes new, innovative energy concepts. Check with your state or local government to find these sorts of specialized grant opportunities.

A few federal programs provide grants to small firms engaged in scientific research and development (R&D). The Federal government's SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) and STTR (Small Business Technology Transfer) programs award a specific percentage of Federal R&D funds to qualified small businesses. SBIR/STTR programs encourage small firms to undertake scientific research that helps meet Federal R&D objectives, and have high potential for commercialization if successful. The following agency award SBIR/STTR grants:

• Department of Agriculture
• Department of Commerce
  • National Institute of Standards and Technology
  • National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
• Department of Defense
• Department of Education
• Department of Energy
• Department of Health and Human Services
• Department of Homeland Security
• Department of Transportation
• Environmental Protection Agency
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration
• National Science Foundation