Erie County Mini Grant

The Live Your Dream Awards provide monetary assistance to women who provide the primary source of financial support for their families. It is the cornerstone program of Soroptimist International of the Americas, LiveYourDream.org's sponsoring organization. Each year, more than $3 million in education grants are awarded to over 2,300 women, many of whom have overcome enormous obstacles including poverty, domestic violence, the death of a spouse and/or substance abuse.

Workforce+ is a Performance Grant option that allows TVA to make an investment in competitive economic development projects focused on building a highly skilled and qualified workforce. Award amounts are paid directly to the company and are contingent on companies meeting the minimum requirements of the Performance Grant Program. Funding amounts are based upon approval of the company’s talent pipeline development plan.

The Intuit IDEAS Program is a 12-month business growth program that provides participating small businesses with over $10,000 in complimentary Intuit tools and expert support, plus a $5,000 cash grant awarded upon successful completion of the program (with an additional $1,000 technology grant potentially available for eligible business technology needs). Administered by Intuit, the corporate parent behind QuickBooks, TurboTax, Credit Karma, and Mailchimp, the program is designed to help small businesses grow, scale, and become capital-ready through Intuit's AI-driven platform combined with business coaching from experienced community partners and executive coaching from Zella Life. Participants receive free QuickBooks, Mailchimp, and TurboTax software, plus access to Credit Karma and Intuit tax and bookkeeping experts. In addition to product access, participants receive monthly business coaching and executive coaching, hands-on training in Mailchimp, QuickBooks, and TurboTax, networking with Intuit professionals and program alumni, exposure through product presentations and other marketing opportunities, and a personalized IDEAS Growth Plan with clear business milestones. The program requires roughly 3 hours per week during onboarding and 3 to 5 hours per month throughout the 12-month program. Eligibility is limited to registered small businesses located within roughly 40 miles of one of the 2026 program markets: Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, New York City, Philadelphia, San Diego, or West Virginia. Los Angeles is supported through a separate dedicated cohort with its own application process. Military veteran and military spouse entrepreneurs may apply nationwide through a special virtual cohort. Ideal applicants have at least one year in operation and a small team (1 to 9 employees have performed best in past cohorts). Nonprofits, C Corporations, current Intuit employees (including contractors and experts), and businesses with foreign bank accounts or cryptocurrency transactions are not eligible. Businesses do not need to be current Intuit customers to apply, but selected participants must successfully complete QuickBooks onboarding as part of a three-phase application, review, and onboarding process.

Minority-owned beauty brands are eligible to apply for this accelerator program hosted by Ulta Beauty. In addition to the educational programming and workshops, selected businesses will receive $50,000 in grant funding.

The Innovation Voucher program is part of Rhode Island Commerce’s Innovation Initiatives Portfolio created to support Rhode Island’s small businesses and entrepreneurs. The Innovation Voucher funds strategic investments in local businesses that catalyze growth through research and development (R&D) innovation. There are two types of vouchers in this program, both for $5,000 to $75,000. Knowledge Provider Voucher: The Knowledge Provider Voucher helps small businesses tap the expertise and resources of local research institutions such as colleges, universities and hospitals (“knowledge providers”) to advance innovation and business growth. With a Knowledge Provider Voucher, the R&D needed by a small business is executed by the knowledge provider. Manufacturing Voucher: Rhode Island manufacturers can access funding for internal research and development through the Manufacturing Voucher. This voucher supports specific R&D projects that Rhode Island manufacturers need to advance or reinvent their product offerings and remain competitive within their industry.