Funding is one of the biggest hurdles for small businesses and some nonprofits, especially for founders who are self-funded or bootstrapping growth. A bank loan isn’t always an option, and taking on investors means giving up equity and often control. Grants sit in a different category entirely. As you likely know, the money doesn’t need to be paid back, and in most cases, you keep full ownership of your business. The tradeoff is competition and time. Grant applications take effort and the payoff isn’t guaranteed.
That said, the effort is still worth it in our opinion. A single $1,000 microgrant can cover a month of software subscriptions. A $25,000 or $50,000 award can fund a new part time hire, a new product line, or a real marketing push. And many of these programs come with more than money: mentorship, media exposure, and a network of other founders often come attached to the financial support.
The time commitment is usually smaller than people expect. A typical application takes somewhere between 5 minutes and an hour, depending on how detailed the form is and how much documentation it asks for. And for founders who apply regularly, the process speeds up over time. Many of these applications ask about similar things: your background, why you started the business, and how you’d use the funds, so once you’ve written strong answers to those core questions, you’re mostly adapting and tailoring them from one application to the next rather than starting completely from scratch.
We put together this list of active grant opportunities as a resource for our community. It covers programs ranging from small monthly microgrants to larger national awards, with a focus on options that are realistic for small businesses and nonprofits.
A few notes before you dive in. Deadlines and award amounts can change without notice, so confirm the current details on each organization’s website before you apply. Many of these programs on this particular list prioritize women-owned, minority owned, or otherwise underserved businesses, so read the eligibility criteria closely before you invest time in an application.
Why grants deserve a spot in your funding strategy
Grants are often treated as a nice-to-have rather than a real part of a funding plan, and that’s a mistake. Unlike loans, grants don’t add debt to your balance sheet. Unlike investment capital, they don’t dilute ownership or bring in outside voices on how the business should run. For a small business or nonprofit still finding its footing, that combination is hard to beat.
The catch is that grants take real work to secure. Applications ask for a clear story about the business, a specific use of funds, and sometimes financial documentation. Fees range from free to a few hundred dollars, however none of that guarantees a win. The businesses that do well with grants tend to treat the search the same way they’d treat sales prospecting; by applying regularly, tracking what worked, and refining the pitch over time.
Monthly and recurring grants
These programs accept applications on a regular cycle, which means you can apply more than once if you’re not selected the first time around. Because the deadlines repeat, they’re a good starting point if you’re new to grant applications and want to build the habit before tackling larger, more competitive one-time awards.
HerRise Microgrant: A $1,000 monthly grant aimed at women entrepreneurs, with a particular focus on women of color running U.S. registered businesses under $1 million in revenue. The program looks for ventures that create community impact and that have struggled to access traditional funding sources like bank loans. Applications are straightforward and reopen every month, which makes this a solid option to apply to on a recurring basis rather than a one-time shot. Applications are due the last day of each month, and the application fee is $15.
Women’s Net Amber Grant: One of the longer running grant programs in this space, the Amber Grant awards at least $10,000 every month to a woman-owned business. Monthly winners then become eligible for an additional year-end grant of up to $50,000. The application itself is story-based, asking about your business, your background, and how the funding would be used, and a single submission keeps you in consideration for multiple award categories rather than requiring a new application each time. Judging tends to focus on the clarity of your business and the passion behind it rather than polish alone. The program is recommended for once a year applications rather than monthly resubmission. The application fee is $15.
Freed Fellowship Grant: A $500 monthly grant for small business owners that comes bundled with mentorship, feedback, and access to a community of other founders. All applicants receive some form of growth insight regardless of whether they win, and winners become eligible for an additional $2,500 grant at the end of the year. The program evaluates applications using what it calls a 5C framework, weighing narrative, community, and growth potential. Businesses with a clear mission and an engaged audience tend to perform well here. Applications are accepted the last day of every month, and the fee is $19.
The Big Idea Grant: A simple, no strings attached program that awards one woman $1,000 toward her business every month. There’s no investor pitch and no permission required beyond submitting the application, and the organization notes that every application is read individually rather than filtered by an algorithm. Because the format is straightforward and the commitment is low, this is a reasonable one to add to a monthly application routine. The application fee is $15.
Grants open now or coming up later this year
These are one time or seasonal application windows rather than ongoing monthly programs. Because the deadlines don’t repeat on a predictable schedule, it’s worth marking your calendar as soon as you decide to apply.
Breva Thrive Grant: A $5,000 grant for small businesses and entrepreneurs focused on growth and resilience. The program is less interested in a polished pitch deck and more interested in how a business has navigated real challenges and what it would do with additional funding to reach its next stage. Businesses with some track record and a clear direction tend to be a strong fit. The application window is open now through July 31, 2026, and it’s free to apply.
Co-100: Run through the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Co-100 award offers $25,000 to a small business, making it one of the larger awards on this list. The application fee is $350, though the fee is waived entirely if the application is submitted by mail rather than online, which is worth knowing if the fee is a barrier. The deadline is July 23, 2026.
She’s Connected by AT&T: A national small business contest that awards up to $50,000 along with mentorship, media exposure, and technology support. The program specifically looks for businesses with a strong story, a clear connection to their community, and real growth potential, which makes it a good match for founders comfortable talking about the why behind their business and not just the what. It’s free to apply, and the deadline is July 31, 2026.
Transform Business Grant: A $1,000 grant built around redistributing funding to impact-oriented entrepreneurs, with particular interest in businesses operating outside more traditional models. The program often pairs the award with customized mentorship tailored to the grantee’s specific growth stage and mission, so the value extends beyond the check itself. Positioning and mission alignment tend to matter more here than revenue size. The application window runs from September 8 through September 18, 2026, and there’s no fee.
Her Agenda Breakthrough Grant: A community-funded $5,000 grant aimed at women entrepreneurs who are approaching a real breakthrough moment in their business, whether that’s launching a new product, hiring a key person, or entering a new market. Rather than being funded by a single corporate sponsor, the grant is sustained by donations from the Her Agenda readership, which gives it a slightly different flavor than the corporate-backed programs on this list. One requirement to flag clearly, applicants must be actively subscribed to the Her Agenda newsletter in order to be considered, so sign up ahead of time if you plan to apply. The deadline is September 18, 2026, and the application fee is $25.
A note for nonprofits
Most of the programs above are structured around small businesses, but a lot of the same logic applies if you run a nonprofit. Many private and family foundations run their own grant cycles that don’t show up on general small business lists like this one, so it’s worth building out a parallel list specific to your mission area, whether that’s health, education, housing, or the arts. Local community foundations are also worth a look, since they often fund smaller organizations that wouldn’t be competitive for a national award, and many maintain their own searchable grant databases specifically for nonprofits in their region. If your organization holds 501c3 status, keep your determination letter, most recent Form 990, and a current board list on hand, since these are commonly requested documents across nonprofit-specific grant applications.
How to decide which grants are worth your time
Not every grant on a list like this one is going to be a good use of your time, and being selective is part of doing this well. A few questions are worth asking before you start an application.
Does your business actually meet the eligibility criteria, not just the spirit of it? Grant reviewers can tell when an application is stretching to fit criteria it doesn’t meet, and a mismatched application wastes both your time and theirs.
Is the application fee, if there is one, proportional to the award size and your odds of winning? A $15 fee on a monthly grant with a straightforward application is low risk. A $350 fee on a highly competitive national award is a bigger bet, and it’s fair to weigh that before committing.
Does the program offer anything beyond the money? Mentorship, media exposure, and community access can be worth more to an early-stage business than the dollar amount alone, so factor that into how you prioritize your time.
Can you tell a specific, honest story about how the funding would be used? Vague answers about general business growth tend to underperform against applications that name a specific outcome, like hiring a part-time contractor or funding a first print run.
Common mistakes to avoid
A handful of mistakes show up again and again in grant applications, and avoiding them puts you ahead of a lot of the competition.
Submitting the exact same answers across multiple grant applications without tailoring them to each program’s specific criteria. Reviewers notice generic language, and a story that’s clearly been copied and pasted from another application rarely lands well.
Waiting until the day of the deadline to start. Many of these applications ask for details you’ll need to look up, like your EIN, revenue figures, or a specific description of how funds will be used, and scrambling for that information under time pressure leads to weaker answers.
Skipping the terms and eligibility section. It’s tempting to jump straight to the application form, but missing a requirement, like the Her Agenda newsletter subscription mentioned above, can disqualify an otherwise strong application before it’s even reviewed.
Treating every application as a one-time event instead of building a repeatable process. Founders who apply regularly tend to get better at articulating their story over time, and that improvement compounds.
Not tracking what you’ve applied for. Once you’re applying to more than two or three programs, it becomes easy to lose track of deadlines, fees paid, and outcomes. A simple spreadsheet with columns for deadline, amount, fee, and status goes a long way.
A quick tip on the application itself
Most of these grants are decided on story as much as numbers. Be specific about what the funding will unlock, whether that’s a new hire, a product launch, or entering a new market, and lead with the outcome rather than a general mission statement. A clear, well told story about where you are and where the funding takes you tends to stand out more than a polished but generic pitch. Reviewers read a lot of applications, and specificity is one of the fastest ways to stand out from a stack of submissions that all sound similar.
It also helps to have someone outside your business read your application before you submit it. It is possible that some Founders could be too close to their own story to notice where an outside reader might get confused or where a claim needs more support. A second set of eyes catches these gaps quickly.
Building this into a regular habit
The businesses that see the most benefit from grants tend to treat the search as an ongoing part of running the business rather than a task to complete once and forget. Setting aside even an hour a month to check on new opportunities, update a tracking spreadsheet, and submit to whichever monthly programs are still open keeps the pipeline moving without demanding a huge time investment all at once. Over the course of a year, that small recurring effort adds up to a meaningful number of applications, and even a modest win rate on a dozen or more submissions can translate into real funding.
How Creative Repute can help
Winning a grant is only half the equation. What you do with the funding is what actually moves your business forward, and that’s where a lot of small businesses and nonprofits get stuck. If a grant is about to fund a rebrand, a new website, or a marketing push, Creative Repute can help you turn that funding into something real. Reach out and let’s talk about where you’re headed and how we can help you get there.