Athens Business Façade Grant

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 Rock Solid Fund, administered by the Nantucket Island Chamber of Commerce, provides grants to Nantucket-based small businesses to ensure their contribution toward a strong island economy. Ideally, applicants will use funds to execute an innovative project to ensure the growth and economic stability of their own business while creating a positive role model for others in the entrepreneurial community.

The New Jersey Clean Tech Research and Development (R&D) Voucher Program provides early-stage New Jersey based clean technology companies with vouchers of up to $40,000 to subsidize access to research and development equipment, facilities, and makerspaces at participating "core facilities" across the state. Administered by the New Jersey Commission on Science, Innovation and Technology (CSIT) in collaboration with the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA), the program is designed to accelerate development and innovation of clean technologies, helping companies transform research stage discoveries into commercially viable technologies that attract industry and investor interest. Eligible target areas include chemicals and advanced materials, energy distribution and storage, energy efficiency, energy generation, green buildings, transportation, waste processing, and water and agriculture. Funds are paid directly to participating core facilities (which include New Jersey based colleges and universities, federal labs, NJEDA approved Strategic Innovation Centers, and approved nonprofit organizations) rather than to the business itself, and may be used for access to labs, equipment, makerspaces, and technology centers, use of facility equipment and technicians for testing and development, training to prepare for independent use of equipment, access to datasets at participating facilities, and supplies and consumables needed to operate that equipment. Applicants can apply for multiple CSIT vouchers up to a combined cap of $40,000 in any 12-month period. To qualify, applicants must be a for-profit company authorized and in good standing to conduct business in New Jersey (nonprofits are not eligible), have no more than 50 full-time-equivalent workers, have at least one full-time worker, conduct 50 percent or more of cumulative work hours in New Jersey, generate less than or equal to $5 million in prior calendar year sales revenue (excluding grant revenue), and hold a current NJ Tax Clearance Certificate listing CSIT. Approved projects must fall within Technology Readiness Levels 1 through 7 (from basic research through full-scale prototype demonstration in a relevant environment). Manufacturing of products for sale or commercial use and real estate rental expenses are not eligible. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis as long as program funds remain available, and applicants must secure a written letter of support, agreed scope of work, and agreed budget from a participating core facility before their application is complete.

The Chicago Neighborhood Market Grant Program provides Chicago small food and beverage business owners and farmers market operators with one-time grants of $10,000 to strengthen local food systems and expand access to fresh, healthy food across the city. Administered by the Chicago Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection (BACP) in partnership with Allies for Community Business (A4CB), the program is funded by the Chicago Road to Recovery Plan through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), with A4CB providing $450,000 in total grant funding to eligible applicants. To qualify, applicants must be a small retail food and beverage business owner or a farmers market operator, operating a storefront or market that is physically located within one of Chicago's designated priority geographies. The program specifically focuses on businesses that serve as both economic anchors and food access points in neighborhoods historically impacted by disinvestment, with the broader goal of ensuring that access to fresh, healthy food does not depend on the neighborhood a resident lives in. Grant funds may be used for a range of purposes, including equipment purchases, market operations, marketing and outreach efforts, and improvements that help farmers markets operate year-round rather than only during traditional market seasons.

The Business Initiation Grant provides qualifying, new business startups with a "leg up" at their most critical time. The grant offers up to $5,000 for startup costs to qualified applicants. The entrepreneur is required to participate in a business planning workshop through one of Englewood's economic partners. The business owner must have a fully developed business plan which will be reviewed by the experts at the Aurora-South Small Business Development Center. Grant funding may be used for any valid purpose and a physical storefront or business presence in a commercial or industrial district is required. Capital improvements are permanent investments in the building or on the property, which are generally associated with a building permit. Businesses opened in Englewood within the last 12 months are eligible to apply. Grant funding is limited, and not all businesses that apply may be funded.