Grants
Open Grants
Fast Break for Small Business provides grants and services to support small businesses in underserved and underrepresented communities. The program, a collaboration by LegalZoom, the NBA, WNBA and NBA G League, accepts applications for $10,000 grants and up to $500 in LegalZoom services two times per year. Applications will reopen later this year, and you can sign up on the website to be notified. This popular program often appears in men of color entrepreneur grant program reviews, and it’s a top choice for those seeking grants for Black entrepreneurs, grants for Black male entrepreneurs, and Black business owner grants.
Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (SBTT) programs provide awards for companies to participate in Federal research and development, potentially to commercialize their product. Businesses collaborate with a research institution in order to explore the potential of the technology. The program fosters innovation, particularly among people of color, women, and people with disabilities. Applications for the 2025 Growth Accelerator program have closed. Be sure to check the SBA website for 2026 deadlines.
These federal programs offer grant money for Black business and align well with Black entrepreneurship grant opportunities, helping Black American business owners tap into innovation funding for scalable ventures.
The Power Forward Small Business Grant, a collaboration of Vistaprint, the Boston Celtics Shamrock Foundation, and the NAACP, provides $25,000 grants to Black-owned small businesses in New England on a rolling basis. Grant recipients can be featured on co-branding platforms nationwide and receive marketing and design resources to help their businesses grow.
The Sage Invest in Progress Grant is a partnership between Sage and the BOSS network, which will provide 25 grants of $10,000 each to Black women entrepreneurs. Applicants must have been in business no longer than five years. Grant recipients will also receive a 12-month program of education and mentorship, providing coaching and connections and removing barriers to capital. Programs like these exemplify grants for Black founders and Black owned business grants, offering early-stage Black women entrepreneurs access to capital and strategic mentorship for growth.
The National Black MBA Association Scale Up Pitch Challenge awards cash prizes of up to $50,000 to scalable startups in its annual pitch competition. Applications have not opened yet for 2025, but last year’s applications opened in June, so check the website for details.
The Keep It Local Business Fund is a collaboration of the NAACP and the Nextdoor Kind Foundation. This program awards $5,000 microgrants to entrepreneurs who are strengthening their local communities. This grant is administered in partnership with Hello Alice. This fund supports small Black business grants for community-driven ventures, showcasing how grants for Black owned businesses can uplift both businesses and their neighborhoods.
SoGal Black Founder Startup Grant is a feel‑good boost for early‑stage Black women and Black nonbinary founders who are ready to grow big ideas with real support behind them. Offering $5,000–$10,000 in non‑dilutive funding, this grant goes beyond a check — recipients also tap into ongoing mentorship, expert guidance, and the vibrant global SoGal community. If you’ve got a legally registered business and a bold plan to scale, this rolling‑application grant can be the spark that helps you take your next big leap.
Google for Startups Black Founders Fund offers Black-founded businesses cash awards of up to $150,000 plus dedicated support via Google for Startups Cloud Program. Black-owned businesses worldwide that have a tech-driven, scalable product can qualify for this program, and applications are accepted on a rolling basis.
Grant amount: $500 to $2,500
Eligibility: Micro- and small business owners in the US, with minority and women business owners encouraged
Deadline: Monthly
The Freed Fellowship Grant awards monthly grants of $500 to small business owners, especially encouraging applications from minority, female, and other marginalized groups of business owners. Awardees are also given one year of access to Freed Studio, which helps them build and leverage their email lists, along with coaching support, business resources, and the chance to win an annual $2,500 grant.
Pathway to Opportunity Competition
Grant amount: $1,250 to $5,000
Eligibility: Minority-owned businesses in the US with a business-to-business product or service
Deadline: Annual
While the Pathway to Opportunity Competition began as a pitch competition specifically for Black entrepreneurs, the program has recently expanded its eligibility and welcomes all minority business owners to compete. Each annual competition brings together participants to compete in two live pitch contests, with the chance to win cash awards and receive free networking and exposure. This opportunity is for business solutions, not consumer products.
Grant amount: $2,950 to $25,000
Eligibility: Minority and women entrepreneurs in the US
Deadline: Varies
The Galaxy Grant is offered by the nonprofit Galaxy of Stars, a resource network for women and minority businesses. It supports small business owners at any stage of their journey, from aspiring entrepreneurs thinking about starting a business to experienced owners with established businesses. Applications are accepted only from individuals who have created a free or paid Galaxy of Stars membership account.
Grant amount: $1,000
Eligibility: US-based entrepreneurs from systematically oppressed groups, regardless of immigration status
Deadline: Annual
TRANSFORM offers business grants with the explicit goal of wealth redistribution, awarding small grants to minority-owned businesses that make a meaningful social impact. In addition to a small grant award, the TRANSFORM Business Grant offers one year of mentorship and development coaching. Preference is given to small businesses in financial need that share TRANSFORM’s social values and commitment to antiracism.
Grant amount: $10,000 to $25,000
Eligibility: Women-owned small businesses in the US and Canada
Deadline: Monthly
WomensNet, a female entrepreneurship foundation, awards three Amber Grants each month: one open to all women-owned businesses (including nonprofits), one for startups, and one in a rotating category such as health and fitness and STEM. At the end of the year, three grant recipients are selected for additional $25,000 grants.
Grant amount: Up to $25,000
Eligibility: US female founders age 22 and up with socially conscious, revenue-earning businesses not more than three years old
Deadline: Quarterly
The EmpowHer Grants program is an initiative of The Boundless Futures Foundation, offering support to women-owned eligible small businesses. The businesses must demonstrate social impact in poverty and hunger, sustainability and the environment, or strong communities. Recipients also participate in professional training programs. Funding is distributed as reimbursement for business-related expenses.
Grant amount: More than $30,000 in total cash prizes
Eligibility: Under-resourced female founders in the US with revenue-generating businesses
Deadline: Varies (based on event schedule)
The BGV Pitch Program, sponsored by the Black Girl Ventures Foundation, is a multicity pitch competition for women business founders, where competitors receive pitch coaching and support as they develop a two-minute pitch before a live audience. BGV Pitch events are held throughout the year in major US cities, where audiences are invited to contribute to crowdfunding campaigns for the founders whose pitch they favor.
Grant amount: $1,000
Eligibility: Women-owned businesses in the US with annual revenue under $1 million
Deadline: Monthly
The female entrepreneurship community HerSuiteSpot offers monthly HerRise MicroGrants, supporting women-owned small businesses. While all women business owners are eligible, under-resourced women and women of color are particularly encouraged to apply. Nonprofits, franchises, and direct sellers are ineligible for the grants.
Grant amount: $2,500 to $5,000
Eligibility: LGBTQ+ businesses in the US that are less than a year old
Deadline: Varies
The nonprofit Queer Business Alliance awards QBA Microgrants to small businesses owned by LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs. Awardees also receive access to volunteer expert advisers for a wide range of development support, and the Queer Business Alliance may help publicize their business.
Grant amount: $1,000
Eligibility: LGBTQIA+ business owners with a US-based company (operating one year or more, with two to 100 employees and less than $5 million in annual revenue)
Deadline: Annual
The National Pride Grant for LGBTQIA+ Small Businesses awards 25 eligible small businesses with $1,000 microgrants. Offered by Founders First CDC, one of the nation’s leading Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), the grant program focuses on economic empowerment and increasing the number of LGBTQIA+ businesses with revenues exceeding $1 million.
ROMBA Startup Pitch Competition
Grant amount: Up to $2,500
Eligibility: LGBTQ+ MBA students or alumni with an established startup
Deadline: Annual
The ROMBA Startup Pitch Competition is a national pitch event organized by Reaching Out MBA (ROMBA) in partnership with StartOut. The competition features teams of LGBTQ+ and ally entrepreneurs, with prizes of up to $2,500. Participants must be current or graduated MBA students, with at least one member of the pitch team registered and attending the ROMBA Conference.
Past Grants
Keep It Local Business Fund
NAACP and Leslie’s Certification Boost Grant
NAACP x Bacardi: Backing The B.A.R.
NAACP x Bacardi: Backing the B.A.R Grant Recipients
NAACP x BeyGOOD: Black Owned Small Business Impact Fund Grant Recipients
Powershift Entrepreneur Grant
2021 NAACP x Bacardi: Backing the B.A.R Grant Recipients
Inclusive Beauty Fund Grant
Venture capital firms
Northwestern Mutual Black Founder Accelerator powered by gener8tor invests in high-growth startup companies that were founded by Black entrepreneurs. This program selects in as many as 10 companies per year for a $100,000 investment plus a 12-week accelerator program.
Fearless Fund is a Black-owned and operated venture capital firm that invests in businesses founded by women of color. They provide pre-seed, seed, and series A funding for aggressive growth companies.
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