Live Your Dream: Educational Grant

The Envision Enterprise Grant provides Greater Charlottesville small businesses with $10,000 grants to support growth and expansion. Administered by the United Way of Greater Charlottesville in partnership with the City of Charlottesville Office of Economic Development and the Albemarle County Office of Economic Development, the program is intended for small, financially stable, for-profit businesses owned by socially disadvantaged individuals in the City of Charlottesville or Albemarle County. Funds may be used for a range of growth-related expenses, including hiring additional employees, ordering supplies and inventory, and investing in marketing. To be eligible, businesses must be located and licensed in the City of Charlottesville or Albemarle County, have been in operation for at least two consecutive years, have no more than 25 employees, generate net income of less than $200,000, and serve as the sole source of employment income for an owner who works for the business full-time. Current and former United Way of Greater Charlottesville grant recipients or Prosper program participants that received funding within the past calendar year are not eligible.

The Downtown Raleigh Storefront Upfit Grant provides new and expanding storefront businesses in Downtown Raleigh with reimbursement grants of up to $10,000 to help cover the cost of build-outs, improvements, and one-time stand-up expenses associated with starting or growing a storefront business. Administered by Raleigh Civic Ventures and currently funded by the Duke Energy Foundation, the program is designed to attract new retail, restaurant, and service businesses to downtown, support the expansion of existing retail, and direct support to strategic areas of the commercial core. Maximum award amounts vary by location and business type: businesses opening in the program's Priority Area (including new retail, restaurant, service, experiential, and pop-up uses) are eligible for up to $10,000, while businesses in the broader grant boundary (retail uses and existing retail businesses expanding by at least 30%) are eligible for up to $5,000. Businesses with 50% or more ownership by individuals who identify as minority, women, LGBTQ+, veteran, or a person with a disability can qualify for an additional $2,500 Diverse Business Enterprise (DBE) booster within their applicable maximum. Eligible expenses include hard costs to physically upfit the space (such as construction, paint, and lighting), soft costs related to design and construction, and one-time stand-up expenses such as furniture, shelving, signage, POS systems, and décor. Recurring operating costs — rent, utilities, payroll, inventory, and cost of goods sold — are not eligible. Professional office and bar uses (defined as businesses deriving 70% or more of revenue from onsite alcohol sales) are explicitly ineligible, though breweries and distilleries with onsite production are eligible. Locally-owned and independently-operated businesses, new businesses occupying first-floor street-front space, and applications with strong matching private investment receive funding priority.

Since 2023, The HBCU Founders Initiative (HBCUFI) and the United Negro College Fund (UNCF), a philanthropic organization that funds scholarships for Black students and 37 HBCUs, have partnered together to host the Better Futures pitch competition. Better Futures is a national showcase of the entrepreneurial excellence booming out of the nation's 100+ HBCUs. The competition features startups led by HBCU students and alumni from the HBCUFI network who are building innovative solutions and creating better futures. The Better Futures pitch competition has traditionally been held at the National Museum of African American History & Culture in Washington, D.C. with $25,000 in prizes distributed across the top three winners annually.

The AI MicroGrant Program is designed to support startups and small businesses who need small amounts of financial assistance to implement or integrate AI components in their business operations that ultimately lead to broad adoption of AI in the community.

The Accelerate Grant Program is designed to take your business to the next level! This grant program is open to women-owned businesses that received a WBDC Equity Match Grant, Ignite Grant or Municipal Grant at least 12 months ago and have demonstrated revenue growth as a direct impact of receiving WBDC grant funding. A select number of applicants will be given the opportunity to participate in a Pitch Event, where an external review committee will select the grant recipients. The grant funds cannot be used towards operating expenses (e.g. inventory, on-going marketing expenses, salaries), or for past purchases or debt repayment.