10 Free Small Business Grants You Can Apply For Today

The version of this page published in February 2025 listed ten “free small business grants.” When we checked each one against its funder’s own website on October 27, 2026, two still matched: the federal SBIR program, and the NASE Growth Grant, which only paying members can apply for. The other eight had changed their terms, stopped running, or were never grants in the first place. The list included a search portal, a lender, an equity investment and a prize for silver-jewelry designers.

So the list below is new. Every program on it passed three tests on its official page that day:

• Nothing to repay and no equity. Grants, cost reimbursements and non-dilutive R&D awards only. Loans and investments are out.
• Free to apply. No application fee and no paid membership. Two legitimate programs that fail this test have their own section below.
• You can start today. The application is open, rolling, or has a published deadline you can work toward now.

Each entry links to the page we checked. Programs change, so treat that page as the final word, not this one.

Quick answer:

• Any U.S. for-profit small business: Verizon’s Small Business Digital Ready grant pays $10,000 to 10 businesses a month through December 2026, once you finish two free courses.
• R&D companies: NSF, NIH, the Department of Defense and EPA all have SBIR or STTR deadlines between November 2026 and January 2027.
• Employers: local workforce boards reimburse part of the cost of training new hires, and states such as Florida reimburse training for staff you already have.
• Exporters, certified organic operations and storefronts: state STEP offices, USDA and city façade programs each pay back a share of specific costs.
• Not free: the Amber Grant charges $15 to apply, and NASE Growth Grants require a paid membership.

The 10 free grants

1. Verizon Small Business Digital Ready: $10,000

Verizon’s Digital Ready grant, administered by LISC, is the closest thing on this list to a general-purpose small business grant. It pays $10,000 to owners, 18 or older, of for-profit small businesses in the U.S., Puerto Rico or the U.S. Virgin Islands. Each owner can enter one business, and nonprofits are not eligible.

• How to qualify: create a free Digital Ready account and complete any two of its free courses or events between January 1 and December 7, 2026. That unlocks the application.
• How winners are picked: 10 businesses a month from June through December 2026, chosen by an anonymous drawing combined with an algorithm that balances industry and geography. Under-resourced and low- to moderate-income communities get priority.
• Deadline: apply once, any time in 2026. Your application stays in every remaining monthly selection, and final decisions are due by January 12, 2027.
• Catch: the grant is taxable (LISC issues a 1099), and anyone who applied before April 15, 2026 has to apply again.

2. NSF SBIR/STTR Phase I: up to $305,000 for R&D

The National Science Foundation’s SBIR/STTR solicitation, NSF 26-510, funds early-stage technical research at small companies: up to $305,000 for a Phase I project of 6 to 18 months, and up to $1,250,000 in Phase II. You repay nothing and give up no equity.

• Who can apply: a small business with 500 or fewer employees, counting affiliates. The principal investigator must be at least 51% employed by the company, and an STTR project needs a research-institution partner.
• Deadlines: November 4, 2026, then March 4 and July 7, 2027.
• Catch: you need an invitation first. NSF requires a short Project Pitch before a Phase I proposal, and an invitation covers the next two deadlines. A company can submit two pitches in any 12 months, so if you have not pitched yet, March 4, 2027 is the realistic target.

Why sources quote different Phase I figures: SBIR Phase 1 grant amount, explained.

3. NIH SBIR: next due date January 5, 2027

The National Institutes of Health, CDC and FDA take SBIR applications for health and life-science R&D under the parent notice PA-27-100. The next standard due date is January 5, 2027, then April 5, 2027, and late applications are not accepted.

• Who can apply: U.S. for-profit small businesses with 500 or fewer employees including affiliates, more than 50% U.S.-owned (the notice allows alternatives for venture-backed firms). Foreign organizations are not eligible.
• How much: Phase I budgets normally follow SBA’s guideline, but several institutes set their own higher figures: $700,000 at NCI, NIA, NIAID, NIGMS, NIMH, NINDS and NCCIH, and $400,000 at nine others, including NHLBI and NIDDK.
• Catch: Phase I projects normally run six months or less, so the budget has to fit a short, specific feasibility question.

4. Defense and EPA SBIR: R&D contracts, not grants

The Department of Defense and the Environmental Protection Agency fund SBIR work through contracts. You still repay nothing and keep your equity, but you deliver the research you proposed against a topic the agency wrote.

• Defense: the Defense SBIR/STTR Innovation Portal shows the first topic releases of the FY2027 SBIR and STTR announcements (issued under the Department of War name) opening October 28 and closing November 25, 2026 at noon Eastern. Award amounts are set topic by topic.
• EPA: the EPA SBIR Phase I solicitation closes November 8, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern. Phase I pays up to $100,000 for six months, and Phase II up to $400,000.
• Catch: if no open topic fits your technology, you wait for the next release. You cannot propose your own subject.

5. USDA Organic Certification Cost Share: 75% back, up to $750 per scope

USDA’s Organic Certification Cost Share Program reimburses certified organic producers and handlers for up to 75% of what they paid a USDA-accredited certifier, up to $750 for each certification scope: crops, wild crops, livestock, processing and handling, and state organic program fees.

• Deadline: December 31, 2026. That single deadline covers both the 2025 and 2026 program years, so a 2025 certification you never claimed still counts.
• How to apply: through your local USDA Service Center or a participating state agency.
• Catch: it only pays back certification costs you have already paid.

6. WIOA On-the-Job Training: part of the cost of training new hires

Under the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, your local American Job Center can reimburse up to 50% of the costs of training a new employee hired through the public workforce system, according to CareerOneStop’s employer guide.

• How it works: an on-the-job training specialist at the job center refers candidates, center staff confirm each one is eligible, and you sign a contract that sets the positions, wages and reimbursement.
• Deadline: none. Contracts are arranged year-round through your local workforce board.
• Catch: it covers people you hire through the job center, not staff you recruited on your own.

7. State incumbent worker training grants: training for staff you already have

Many states also pay part of the cost of training current employees. Florida’s version, CareerSource Florida’s Incumbent Worker Training grant, pays up to $100,000 per company and reimburses up to 50% of direct training costs, or up to 75% for priority applicants such as businesses with 25 or fewer employees, businesses in rural or distressed areas, and training toward credentials on the state’s Master Credentials List.

• Who can apply in Florida: for-profit businesses that have operated for at least a year. Trainees must be W-2 employees who have been on the payroll for six months and work at least 37.5 hours a week. Retail businesses are excluded under the 2026–27 guidelines.
• Deadline: awards are made monthly from a $3 million pot for the 2026–27 state fiscal year. Apply online at least 45 business days before training starts.
• Catch: it is a reimbursement, and a company can win once every other year. Other states run similar programs under other names; ask your state workforce agency for its incumbent worker training grant.

8. State Trade Expansion Program (STEP): export costs reimbursed

The U.S. Small Business Administration’s STEP program gives its awards to state and territory governments, and businesses apply to their state, not to SBA. Each state sets its own terms. In New York, Global NY STEP reimburses up to 50% of eligible costs at $2,000 to $5,000 per activity (trade shows, trade missions, Commerce Department services and translation), up to three activities and $10,000 per company in each funding period. The current period runs to September 29, 2027, first come, first served.

• Who can apply in New York: for-profit small businesses headquartered in the state, operating for at least a year, with export-ready products or services of at least 51% U.S. content. Retail businesses and intermediaries are excluded.
• Catch: apply at least 30 days before the activity. Nothing already completed or under way can be reimbursed. SBA’s directory of state STEP contacts still lists FY2024 awardees, so confirm the current contact with your state’s trade office.

More: STEP grants for exporters: you apply to your state.

9. City storefront and façade grants

Many cities pay part of the cost of fixing up a commercial building. Two that were taking applications on October 27, 2026:

• Chicago: the Small Business Improvement Fund reimburses 30% to 90% of the cost of permanent building improvements, up to $150,000 for commercial and $250,000 for industrial properties, in Tax Increment Financing districts where the fund is open. Grants are not competitive; eligible applicants that follow the rules are funded. Windows open district by district each month: the October window closes October 30, 2026 and the next runs November 1 to 30.
• Jacksonville: the City’s Façade Renovation Matching Grant pays $2 for every $1 you spend on eligible exterior work, up to $7,500 in Level 1 distressed areas and $15,000 in Level 2 areas. The City lists no deadline and says funding is subject to availability. More: small business grants in Jacksonville.

To find your city’s version, search its economic development office’s site for “façade” or “storefront.”

10. Tory Burch Foundation Fellows: $2,000 and a fellowship

The Tory Burch Foundation Fellows Program is free to apply, and its FAQ says fellows receive a $2,000 education grant as part of the program. Applications for the 2027 class close November 17, 2026 at 11:59:59 p.m. Eastern.

• Who can apply: women 21 or older who hold the largest or an equal ownership stake in a for-profit business that is at least 51% women-owned, formed and operating in the U.S., with at least $75,000 in annual revenue.
• Catch: the cash is small and earmarked for education. The fellowship is the main prize.

Legitimate, but not free

Amber Grant (WomensNet). Open to women 18 or older whose business is at least 50% women-owned, in the U.S. or Canada, including idea-stage businesses and revenue-generating nonprofits. WomensNet’s grant pages now describe three monthly grants of $15,000 each (the Amber Grant, a Start-Up Grant and a Business Category Grant) and three $75,000 year-end grants, although its list of recent winners still shows $10,000 monthly awards. Applying costs $15, which can be waived on request. The monthly cutoff is the last day of each month at 11:59:59 p.m. Eastern.

NASE Growth Grants. Up to $4,000 from the National Association for the Self-Employed, for members in good standing only: Annual, Veteran and Gold members can apply right away, and Monthly members after 90 days. Applications are reviewed quarterly, so one filed between October and December is reviewed in January. The money cannot pay down debt, rent or a mortgage.

What happened to the 2025 list

How to check any grant list yourself

Most bad grant lists fail in the same few ways, and each takes a minute to catch.

1. Start from what SBA says. The agency’s grants page is blunt: “SBA does not provide grants for starting and expanding a business.” Federal money that reaches a business directly is mostly R&D (SBIR and STTR) or narrow programs such as USDA’s, and export money comes through your state. A list that offers a general federal “small business grant” is wrong.
2. Open the funder’s page, not a roundup. If you cannot find the program on the funder’s own site, assume it has ended. Corporate programs end quietly: FedEx’s U.S. contest stopped after 2024, and Comcast’s RISE site now points somewhere else.
3. Check what kind of money it is. A loan, an equity investment, a contract, a reimbursement and a grant are different things. 43North takes 5% of your company. Reimbursement programs (STEP, training grants, façade grants) pay you back only after you spend.
4. Look at the date of the last round. A program with no window posted for the current year is not one you can apply for today, whatever a list says.
5. Watch the fees. A small application fee does not make a program a scam (the Amber Grant charges $15), but a request for money after you are told you have won should end the conversation.

Where to look next

Our living guide, Small Business Grants: What Actually Exists, tracks recurring programs by type (free help, state, city, training, export, federal, corporate and SBIR) with deadlines refreshed from the OpenGrants database. To see what is open where you are, start from the OpenGrants grant search.