Small Business Grants in 2026: What's Open and Who Can Apply

Who funds grants for businesses

Grant money for businesses comes from four places, and each one works differently.

The federal government funds far fewer business grants than most people expect. The SBA's grants page says: "SBA does not provide grants for starting and expanding a business. SBA provides grants to nonprofits, Resource Partners, and educational organizations." Grants.gov, the federal portal, says on its individual-applicant page that none of its opportunities are for "personal financial assistance, student loans, or starting a small business." The main federal exception for companies is research and development money through the SBIR and STTR programs, which agencies such as NSF, NIH, NASA and the Department of Energy run under their own solicitations.

States and cities run their own programs, and some pass federal money through. The SBA's State Trade Expansion Program is an example: SBA funds the states, and the states support exporters. Programs limited to one area often draw a smaller pool of applicants than national ones. Award rates still vary, so if a program publishes how many awards it made last cycle, check that number.

Companies and foundations fund most of the startup and owner-specific grants, often for women, veterans or owners of color. These follow the funder's own rules, can change or stop from one year to the next, and sometimes charge a small application fee or require a paid membership.

Other federal agencies mostly fund governments and nonprofits. USDA's Rural Business Development Grants go to public bodies, Indian tribes and nonprofits (7 CFR 4280.416). USDA's Value-Added Producer Grants are for agricultural producers and producer groups, and applicants need an active SAM.gov registration and Unique Entity ID (7 CFR 4284.920). The Economic Development Administration's eligible recipients are governments, nonprofits, colleges and tribes; a for-profit can qualify only for training, research and technical assistance awards (13 CFR 300.3). We did not confirm current USDA deadlines or amounts, so check USDA Rural Development directly.

Programs and where each one stands

Each program below was checked on its official page on October 18, 2026. Programs that fund only nonprofits, that have shut down, or whose official page we could not load are left out. Programs that ran recently and have no open round are kept in a separate group at the bottom, labelled as past programs, so you can watch for a new cycle without mistaking them for open calls.

The same programs side by side

The filters above also apply to this table.

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Free help, not cash: where SBA grant money goes

Many lists describe the programs below as small business grants. The grant money goes to an organization, and a business owner gets free advice, training or services from it. These are worth using, especially before you apply for anything competitive. You just cannot apply to them for cash.

Grants for tribes are not grants for Native-owned businesses

Several federal programs for Native communities are open only to tribal governments, tribal organizations or Native nonprofits. A Native American owner applying for their own company usually cannot apply to them. NABDI was "Tribe or Tribal Organization only." HUD's ICDBG goes to tribes and Alaska Native villages. ANA's economic development grants list tribes and Native nonprofits, not for-profit businesses or individuals.

Money can still reach a Native-owned business through those programs, just not directly. Under HUD's rules, a tribe that receives an ICDBG may pass assistance to a private for-profit business for economic development. Indian Affairs has funded nonprofit business incubators that serve reservation communities through its Indian Business Incubators Program; its FY2022 notice listed awards of $100,000 to $300,000 to the incubators, and entrepreneurs got services from them. We could not confirm a current round of that program. If you own a business and are a tribal member, ask your tribe's economic development office what it runs and whether it sub-grants.

One tax point also differs. The IRS says a grant from a federally recognized tribe's government to a member to expand an Indian-owned business on or near a reservation is excluded from the member's income under the general welfare exclusion (IRS FAQ). That exception is narrow, so confirm it with a tax professional.

What comes with the money

A grant is not a loan, so you usually do not pay it back. It does come with terms, and the terms decide what you can spend it on, what you report, and when you can be asked to return it.

Federal awards follow the Uniform Guidance

Costs charged to a federal award must be necessary, reasonable, allocable to the award and "adequately documented" (2 CFR 200.403). Agencies collect financial reports at least once a year, and the final financial report is due within 120 days after the award period ends (2 CFR 200.328). Agencies can apply these rules to for-profit recipients through their own regulations or program terms (2 CFR 200.101).

Grants can be taken back

Payments for costs later found unallowable "must be refunded with interest" under 2 CFR 200.410. Federal money paid beyond what a recipient is entitled to is a debt to the federal government (2 CFR 200.346). When a recipient does not comply, the agency can withhold payments, disallow costs, suspend or end the award, start suspension or debarment, or withhold future awards (2 CFR 200.339).

Private grants follow the funder's terms

A company or foundation writes its own rules, and they can be strict. Cartier fellows report on impact for three years. NASE grants cannot pay debt, rent or a mortgage. A private agreement can also include its own clawback terms, so read the award letter before you accept it.

Grants are usually taxable

The IRS says "the receipt of a government grant by a business generally is not excluded from the business's gross income under the Code and therefore is taxable" (IRS FAQ). That answer was written about pandemic relief grants, and it states the general rule. Private funders say the same about their own awards: Amber Grants makes winners responsible for any taxes, and Cartier says its grant may be subject to local tax. Treat a business grant as taxable income unless a specific tax rule excludes it, and ask a tax professional how a particular grant affects your return before you spend it.

Do you need an LLC, an EIN or a bank account?

It depends on the program. No general rule says a grant applicant must be an LLC. Some funders limit who can apply by structure: Cartier does not accept sole proprietorships, while Amber Grants accepts idea-stage businesses. Read each program's eligibility section for the entity types it accepts.

Federal grants: SAM.gov and a Unique Entity ID

To apply for most federal financial assistance as an organization, you register in SAM.gov, get a Unique Entity ID, keep the registration active, and review and update it at least once a year (2 CFR 25.200). SAM.gov registration is free. Its entity registration checklist treats sole proprietors, partnerships and corporations alike as entities, and asks U.S. entities for a taxpayer identification number and bank details for electronic payments. Grants.gov says to allow up to 10 business days for registration, and longer if your information cannot be verified. Our DUNS number vs EIN guide covers where the Unique Entity ID came from.

Grants.gov: individual account or organization

Grants.gov has two paths. A person applying as an individual adds an Individual Applicant profile and, per Grants.gov, does not need to register with SAM.gov. An organization, including a for-profit business where the funding notice allows it, completes organization registration after its SAM.gov registration. The same Grants.gov page notes that its opportunities are not for starting a small business.

Private grants: whatever the funder asks for

Private programs set their own document rules. Some ask for financial statements, some for proof of ownership, some for very little. A separate business bank account is not a condition of most programs on this page. It does make it easier to show where grant money went, which matters when a funder asks for receipts or a report, and it keeps business and personal records apart at tax time. If you are opening one, our guide to the documents a bank asks for lists what to bring.

How to spot a grant scam

Grants.gov warns that scammers use the idea of "free money" from the government to promise access to grants, "often for a fee." It also says federal grants are rarely given to individuals for personal benefit and that applying for a federal grant is free (Grants.gov grant fraud page). The SBA says it only communicates from email addresses ending in @sba.gov (SBA grants page).

• Be wary of anyone who asks for a fee to get you a federal grant or to "guarantee" one.
• A private program can charge a small, disclosed application fee, as Amber Grants does with its $15 fee. Check that the fee appears on the funder's own website.
• Do not give a bank account number to claim a grant you never applied for.

Application checklist

1. Open the program's official page and confirm it is accepting applications now. Note the deadline and its time zone.
2. Read the eligibility rules line by line: ownership, location, revenue, employee count, years in business and accepted entity types.
3. Check the cost to apply, including any application fee or required membership, and whether a waiver exists.
4. For federal funding, start SAM.gov registration early; Grants.gov says to allow up to 10 business days. Individuals applying on Grants.gov use an individual profile instead.
5. Write down exactly what the money will pay for, with numbers, and check that those costs are allowed under the program's rules.
6. Gather what the application asks for, such as financial statements, ownership details or a pitch deck, and nothing it does not ask for.
7. Read the award terms before accepting: reporting, allowed uses, and when the money can be taken back.
8. Ask a tax professional how the grant will be taxed, and keep receipts and records for every dollar you spend from it.