Allstate Main Street Grants Program

The Seattle Small Business Capital Access Program (CAP) pays down up to $30,000 (or 20% of the loan principal, whichever is less) on qualifying small business loans for Seattle-based businesses. Administered by the Seattle Office of Economic Development (OED), the program is designed to lower the cost of borrowing for small businesses, particularly those that have historically lacked equitable access to financial services. CAP is not a standalone grant application and businesses do not apply directly. Instead, eligibility is evaluated by a participating community lender at the time of loan approval, and qualifying borrowers receive the principal paydown automatically as part of their financing. Because of this, the most important step for interested business owners is knowing to work with one of CAP's participating community lenders when seeking a small business loan; loans from non-participating lenders are not eligible. Participating lenders include Business Impact NW, Rainier Valley Community Development Fund, Seattle Credit Union, MoFi, Grow America Community Impact Loan Fund, Pursuit, Evergreen Business Capital and Community Finance, and Denkyem Co-Op. Paydowns are issued in two installments — one after the borrower makes 12 on-time monthly payments, and a second after 24 on-time monthly payments — and are applied directly to the loan account rather than disbursed to the borrower, effectively reducing the principal owed. To be eligible, businesses must be for-profit, independently owned, located within Seattle city limits, in operation for at least 12 months, have an active City of Seattle Business License, employ no more than 50 full-time equivalent employees, generate annual gross revenue of $2 million or less, and be current on loan payments at the time of the paydown award.

The City of Waco is investing in the community with the new Corridor Beautification Incentive Program! This matching grant offers up to $15,000 to help owners and tenants of retail, commercial, and multi-family properties to enhance the visual appeal of key corridors. Eligible improvements include landscaping, building facades, parking areas, signage, sidewalks, and public art.

The San Francisco Environment Department is offering grants of up to $2,500 to help food service businesses lease or purchase an automatic dishwasher, cover minor installation costs, and buy essential dishwashing supplies. The purpose of this grant is to help San Francisco food service businesses reduce waste by building or expanding their reusable foodware use and systems for on-site dining. Funding is specifically intended to support businesses in transitioning from disposable foodware and to long-term reuse solutions, in alignment with San Francisco’s zero waste goals. Grants are available only until funding runs out. Early applications are strongly encouraged.

The Black Ambition Prize competition provides a platform for underrepresented founders across the nation to access growth capital, coaching, and a curated community of innovators and mentors. Eligible applicants consist of diverse innovators building early-stage ventures

This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) invites researchers to submit applications for support of clinical projects that address critical needs for clinical trial readiness in rare diseases. The initiative seeks applications that are intended to facilitate rare diseases research by enabling efficient and effective movement of candidate therapeutics or diagnostics toward clinical trials, and to increase their likelihood of success. This could be through the development and testing of rigorous biomarkers and clinical outcome assessment measures, or by defining the presentation and course of a rare disease to enable the design of upcoming clinical trials.