American Express and other small business grants you can apply for right now
American Express has launched a new round of its Backing Small Business grant program — and intends to hand out $2.3 million to small businesses.
The grant program, in partnership with Main Street America, means small business owners can apply for $5,000 grants to cover costs such as marketing expenses, capital implements and physical and technological upgrades. The program will choose 350 small businesses, with the grants being announced June 2023.
“We are proud to work alongside Main Street America to support small business owners as they navigate current economic challenges.” said Alice Lin Fabiano, Vice President, Community Impact at American Express. “Small business owners are at the heart of local communities, and since the launch of our grant program in 2021, it has been inspiring to see the positive impact they have made in communities across the country.”
The grant program will prioritize business owners who have the potential to expand, revitalize or improve their businesses within older and historic downtowns and neighborhood commercial districts across the country. Another 25 of the small businesses chosen for initial grants will also receive another $25,000 to help fund additional projects.
Business owners must meet certain eligibility criteria, such as coming from an underrepresented background. They also must have fewer than 20 employees and operate a physical location. To date, the program has provided $1.65 million in grants to 330 small business owners nationwide. Business owners have until April 7 to apply, and they can do so here.
But there are also a number of other grants that small business owners and entrepreneurs might be interested in:
The Black Ambition Prize Competition for startups
The grant program, led in part by recording artist and producer Pharrell Williams, solicits bold ideas to help reduce access to capital for Black and Hispanic entrepreneurs. The prizes range up to $1 million in funding and mentorship from entrepreneurs.
Business owners cannot have raised more than $1 million in funding. The grant program, in. Partnership with Adidas, Visa, Heineken, Chanel and others, is taking applications until May 8.
Read more about the application and the eligibility requirements here.
Glossier’s third Grant Program for Black-owned Beauty Businesses
The program will provide about $300,000in the form of six, $50,000 grants, to Black-owned beauty businesses, as well as mentorship with Glossier executives as well as technical experts from within the company. The program is taking applications until April 11.
BOTOX Cosmetic maker offers $25,000 grants for women entrepreneurs
Women entrepreneurs will be able to apply for one of 20 grants for up to $25,000 each as part of a new grant program by AbbVie subsidiary Allergan Aesthetics and the maker of the BOTOX Cosmetic.
The new grant, in partnership with IFundWomen, a funding marketplace for women-owned businesses, is an effort to close the so-called “confidence gap” among women entrepreneurs who hold more than half of all management and professional jobs but are underrepresented in leadership positions. Women also make up just 2% of venture-capital funding and generally start with half as much working capital than startups launched by men.
Applications are open through April 7, 2023, and entrepreneurs can learn more about the rules and apply at ifundwomen.com/BOTOXCosmetic.
Lowe’s Foundation launches $50 million grant to train workers
The Lowe’s Foundation Gable Grants program is accepting applications from community colleges, technical schools and community nonprofits that will help train and cultivate job-ready tradespeople and skilled laborers over the next two years.
The application portal is open until April 10, 2023.
Jobber to offer grants to home services businesses
Operations management software firm Jobber has rolled out its “Jobber Grants,” which will award $150,000 across 25 home-service businesses in grant increments ranging from $2,500 to $15,000.
The grant encourages aspiring and experienced business owners to apply using a five-minute grant application and is open to home services businesses including lawn care, plumbing, residential cleaning, painting and more.
Business owners have until June 8, 2023, to apply. Finalists will be announced in August 2023. Get more information and apply at jobber.com/grants.
$50,000 grants to immigrant designers in the United States
In 2024, the Vilcek Foundation will award three Vilcek Prizes for Creative Promise of $50,000 each to immigrant designers living and working in the United States.
The foundation is issuing an open call for applications for the 2024 prizes, which will be accepted through June 12, 2023. The Vilcek Foundation Prizes are given each year in two primary categories: biomedical science and a rotating category in the arts and humanities.
Full application details and eligibility requirements are available at vilcek.org.
National Science Foundation’s America’s Seed Fund dishes out $200M per year
America’s Seed Fund is a decades-long grant program powered by the National Science Foundation.
The National Science Foundation grant program, open to early-stage companies that need to prove their technology and find their market potential, has made about 3,400 awards to startups and small businesses since 2012, with 153 exits by those companies and $9.1 billion in private investment.
The grant program gives out roughly $200 million per year to eligible businesses. Click here to learn more.
For small business owners looking for potential tax credits, here are 10 that every owner should know about.
For those looking for government-backed loans, the USDA Business and Industry Loan Guarantee Program, part of an umbrella loan program offered by the USDA under its OneRD Guarantee Loan Initiative, offers loan guarantees of up to 80% on everything from purchasing a building, modernizing equipment, working capital or acquiring a company. It also only applies to eligible areas — essentially rural areas not in cities or towns of more than 50,000 — although businesses based in larger cities are eligible as long as the project is in a rural area.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration is crafting a $1 billion economic development grant program to help bring jobs to distressed communities — and another $500 million grant program to foster innovation.