{"status":200,"message":"Success","data":{"id":"be4c296e-1852-56b8-b0fa-b3b16f1ebc1f","title":"Small, Minority and Women-Owned Business Account – Video Lottery Terminal (VLT) Fund / VOLT Fund / VLT Small Business Flex Fund / SLoT Fund","identifiers":{"systemId":{"registry":{"code":"opp:opengrants:system","url":"https://opengrants.io/common-grants/registries/opp-opengrants-system.json"},"id":"4556a49e-5bd6-44d6-9834-cf535d5a98ac"},"otherIds":{"opp:opengrants:program":{"registry":{"code":"opp:opengrants:program","url":"https://opengrants.io/common-grants/registries/opp-opengrants-program.json"},"id":"md:commerce-small-minority-and-women-owned-business-account-video-lottery-terminal"},"opp:maryland:system":{"registry":{"code":"opp:maryland:system","url":"https://md.api.cg.a6lab.ai/common-grants"},"id":"b6f0b8b1-7359-5424-8388-ba173610cd26"}}},"status":{"value":"open","description":"Rolling — applications accepted continuously"},"description":"Maryland's Video Lottery Terminal (VLT) Fund — also marketed as the VOLT Fund, the SLoT Fund (State Lottery Terminal Fund), and in some regions as the VLT Small Business Flex Fund — uses 1.5% of proceeds from video lottery terminals (slot machines) at Maryland's six casinos to provide below-market-rate loans to small, minority-owned, women-owned, and veteran-owned businesses throughout Maryland. The program is administered by the Maryland Department of Commerce through regional lending partners. At least 50% of funds are prioritized for businesses within 10 miles of Maryland's six casinos: Maryland Live! in Anne Arundel County, Hollywood Casino Perryville in Cecil County, Rocky Gap Casino in Allegany County, Ocean Downs in Worcester County, Horseshoe Casino Baltimore in Baltimore City, and MGM National Harbor in Prince George's County. The remaining 50% is available to qualifying businesses statewide. No government guarantee is required. The program has two main tiers: (1) Standard loans from $10,000 to $1,000,000 at or below current market interest rates (currently prime plus 1%), with terms up to 5 years for working capital and up to 15 years for fixed assets. Through FSC First (VLT Small Business Flex Fund), loans range from $25,000–$250,000 with terms up to 10 years; no government guarantee required. A non-refundable application fee of $250 applies ($25 for loans $10,000–$25,000) and a 1% origination fee at closing. Some managers offer up to $5.5M via SBA 504/EDI programs. Through AAEDC (VOLT Fund), loans range from $25,000–$500,000 at 5%–7% fixed rates with 30–90 day processing. (2) The VOLT Microloan, which provides up to $50,000 at a fixed 2.00% interest rate with a 5-year term, interest-only payments in year one followed by 4 years of monthly principal and interest payments, and no loan fees or closing costs. The Microloan targets businesses with under $500,000 in revenue, under 10 employees, that have graduated a business accelerator program (such as the Inclusive Ventures Program), and have been in business at least 2 years. Grants up to $10,000 are available when paired with a SMWOBA loan (authorized in legislation prior to FY2024). Eligible uses include business acquisition, commercial real estate acquisition and expansion, leasehold improvements, equipment purchases, working capital, business vehicle purchase, start-up costs, franchise financing, machinery, construction and modernization, tenant improvements, inventory purchases, professional services, and refinancing of existing debt under certain circumstances. Excluded uses for the Microloan include adult entertainment, gambling, guns, liquor, unlicensed massage, pawn, tanning, tattoo, residential/transient facilities, non-owner-occupied real estate, startup financing, R&D/new product development, and bank debt refinancing. Regional fund managers include FSC First, Anne Arundel Economic Development Corporation (AAEDC/VOLT Fund), Meridian Management Group (Maryland Casino Business Investment Fund), Maryland Capital Enterprises Inc. (VLT Fund), Baltimore County Economic Development (Boost Fund), City of Baltimore Development Corp. (VLT Revolving Loan Fund), Howard County Economic Development Authority (Catalyst Fund), Tri-County Council for Western Maryland (SLoT Fund/Summit Financing Solutions, serving Allegany, Garrett, and Washington counties — all recognized as a targeted area), Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation (ACE Loan Fund), Prince George's County Economic Development Corporation, and Cecil County Office of Economic Development. The program is established under permanent statutory authority (State Government Article §9-1A-27 and §9-1A-35) and has operated continuously since FY2011.","funding":{"details":"Between $10,000 and $1,000,000","minAwardAmount":{"amount":"10000.00","currency":"USD"},"maxAwardAmount":{"amount":"1000000.00","currency":"USD"}},"funders":{"primary":{"id":"1568b4ae-0da9-50c0-a03f-850183561aa5","name":"Maryland Department of Commerce","identifiers":{"otherIds":{"org:opengrants:funder":{"registry":{"code":"org:opengrants:funder","url":"https://opengrants.io/common-grants/registries/org-opengrants-funder.json"},"id":"93756575-2166-4283-8f3d-43377331323a","allIds":[{"id":"93756575-2166-4283-8f3d-43377331323a","status":"active"},{"id":"9debf6b0-9217-4150-b9b6-05ea9a5eca3f","status":"active"},{"id":"28395dc4-0380-4f6b-ae78-d2df88a264f5","status":"active"},{"id":"febce4ff-2f55-4b36-bae2-f217858c19d7","status":"active"}]},"org:us:md:agency":{"registry":{"code":"org:us:md:agency","url":"https://opengrants.io/common-grants/registries/org-us-md-agency.json"},"id":"Commerce"}}}}},"keyDates":{"closeDate":{"name":"Application deadline","eventType":"other","details":"Ongoing","description":"Rolling — applications accepted continuously"},"otherDates":{"cycle":{"name":"Application cycle","eventType":"other","details":"Rolling basis, if funding is available"}}},"acceptedApplicantTypes":[{"value":"for_profit_small_business","description":"Business"},{"value":"for_profit_not_small_business","description":"Business"}],"source":"https://commerce.maryland.gov/financial-incentives/loans-financing/vlt-fund","customFields":{"contactInfo":{"name":"contactInfo","fieldType":"object","value":{"name":"Kisha Wiggins","email":"kisha.wiggins@maryland.gov","phone":"410-767-1627"},"description":"Program contact","schema":"https://commongrants.org/custom-fields/contactInfo"},"eligibilityCriteria":{"name":"eligibilityCriteria","fieldType":"object","value":{"details":"Commerce does not set borrower-level eligibility criteria for this program. Each fund manager runs its own loan products and sets its own underwriting standards, loan sizes, terms, and eligible uses. What this means for you. Loan amounts, interest rates, credit requirements, and eligible uses vary by fund manager. Contact the fund manager serving your area to find out what they require and what they can lend. Some fund managers are micro-lenders making loans under $50,000; others make substantially larger loans. Fund managers must comply with the statutory allocation requirement described above, so where your business is located affects which portion of a fund manager’s allocation you may draw from."},"description":"Who is eligible, in the funder's words","schema":"https://commongrants.org/custom-fields/eligibilityCriteria"},"additionalInfo":{"name":"additionalInfo","fieldType":"object","value":{"url":"https://commerce.maryland.gov/","description":"Maryland Department of Commerce grants page"},"description":"Where the agency publishes its programs","schema":"https://commongrants.org/custom-fields/additionalInfo"},"fundingInstrument":{"name":"fundingInstrument","fieldType":"string","value":"grant+loan","description":"grant, loan, grant+loan, tax credit, rebate, in-kind or other","schema":"https://opengrants.io/common-grants/schemas/state-portal-v1.json"},"fundingSource":{"name":"fundingSource","fieldType":"string","value":"Other","description":"State, Federal, Federal and State, or Other","schema":"https://opengrants.io/common-grants/schemas/state-portal-v1.json"},"lastSyncedAt":{"name":"lastSyncedAt","fieldType":"string","value":"2026-10-29T08:48:16Z","description":"When the OpenGrants record data behind this opportunity was last refreshed (UTC)","schema":"https://opengrants.io/common-grants/schemas/state-portal-v1.json"},"stateCode":{"name":"stateCode","fieldType":"string","value":"MD","description":"USPS code of the state whose agency offers this funding","schema":"https://opengrants.io/common-grants/schemas/state-portal-v1.json"},"agencyKey":{"name":"agencyKey","fieldType":"string","value":"commerce","description":"Portal key of the administering agency","schema":"https://opengrants.io/common-grants/schemas/state-portal-v1.json"},"agencyAbbrev":{"name":"agencyAbbrev","fieldType":"string","value":"Commerce","description":"Administering agency abbreviation","schema":"https://opengrants.io/common-grants/schemas/state-portal-v1.json"},"agencyUrl":{"name":"agencyUrl","fieldType":"string","value":"https://commerce.maryland.gov/","description":"Administering agency website","schema":"https://opengrants.io/common-grants/schemas/state-portal-v1.json"},"categories":{"name":"categories","fieldType":"array","value":["Housing, Community and Economic Development"],"description":"Portal categories","schema":"https://opengrants.io/common-grants/schemas/state-portal-v1.json"},"applicantTypes":{"name":"applicantTypes","fieldType":"array","value":["Business"],"description":"Portal applicant types","schema":"https://opengrants.io/common-grants/schemas/state-portal-v1.json"},"estimatedAmounts":{"name":"estimatedAmounts","fieldType":"string","value":"Between $10,000 and $1,000,000","description":"Estimated award amounts, as published","schema":"https://opengrants.io/common-grants/schemas/state-portal-v1.json"},"howToApply":{"name":"howToApply","fieldType":"string","value":"Apply as described on the program page (applications at commerce.maryland.gov).","description":"How to apply","schema":"https://opengrants.io/common-grants/schemas/state-portal-v1.json"},"electronicSubmission":{"name":"electronicSubmission","fieldType":"string","value":"url: https://commerce.maryland.gov/financial-incentives/loans-financing/vlt-fund;","description":"Where applications are submitted (url: … or email: …)","schema":"https://opengrants.io/common-grants/schemas/state-portal-v1.json"},"cycle":{"name":"cycle","fieldType":"string","value":"Rolling basis, if funding is available","description":"Application cycle pattern","schema":"https://opengrants.io/common-grants/schemas/state-portal-v1.json"},"nextDeadlineDisplay":{"name":"nextDeadlineDisplay","fieldType":"string","value":"Rolling","description":"What the portal shows as the next deadline","schema":"https://opengrants.io/common-grants/schemas/state-portal-v1.json"},"deadlineSource":{"name":"deadlineSource","fieldType":"string","value":"record-live","description":"editorial, record or cycle","schema":"https://opengrants.io/common-grants/schemas/state-portal-v1.json"},"programSlug":{"name":"programSlug","fieldType":"string","value":"commerce-small-minority-and-women-owned-business-account-video-lottery-terminal","description":"Stable program slug within the portal","schema":"https://opengrants.io/common-grants/schemas/state-portal-v1.json"},"programUrl":{"name":"programUrl","fieldType":"string","value":"https://opengrants.io/grants-in-maryland/#p-commerce-small-minority-and-women-owned-business-account-video-lottery-terminal","description":"Program card on the portal page","schema":"https://opengrants.io/common-grants/schemas/state-portal-v1.json"},"opengrantsListingUrl":{"name":"opengrantsListingUrl","fieldType":"string","value":"https://commerce.maryland.gov/fund/programs-for-businesses/vlt","description":"Listing URL on the bound OpenGrants record","schema":"https://opengrants.io/common-grants/schemas/state-portal-v1.json"},"upstreamSource":{"name":"upstreamSource","fieldType":"string","value":"maryland","description":"Upstream CommonGrants API this record is also served by (src/data/state-portals/upstreams.json)","schema":"https://opengrants.io/common-grants/schemas/state-portal-v1.json"},"bindingMode":{"name":"bindingMode","fieldType":"string","value":"record","description":"record, upstream, pending-import or none","schema":"https://opengrants.io/common-grants/schemas/state-portal-v1.json"},"verifiedOn":{"name":"verifiedOn","fieldType":"string","value":"2026-10-29","description":"Date the official page was last checked","schema":"https://opengrants.io/common-grants/schemas/state-portal-v1.json"},"cardStatus":{"name":"cardStatus","fieldType":"string","value":"published","description":"published, needs_review or retired","schema":"https://opengrants.io/common-grants/schemas/state-portal-v1.json"}},"createdAt":"2026-09-17T17:23:22.045451+00:00","lastModifiedAt":"2026-11-09T12:40:21Z","competitions":[],"awards":[]}}