National Pride Grant for LGBTQIA+ Small Businesses

The Hey Helen Grant is a privately funded initiative by Visionaries that invests in women entrepreneurs building impact-driven, for-profit businesses in the U.S. Each grant cycle, one founder will receive a $10,000 unrestricted cash award — designed to fuel whatever moves your business forward, whether that’s operations, growth, marketing, hiring, or infrastructure. Grant cycles close at the end of April, August, and December. This grant is open to businesses that are 100% women-owned, generate less than $1M in annual revenue, and are legally registered in the United States. Nonbinary applicants assigned female at birth or who feel aligned with the intent of the grant are also welcome to apply. If you’re building something with purpose, grit, and integrity — and just need a little extra backing to take the next leap — you’re in the right place.

The Skills Enhancement Fund (SEF) provides assistance to businesses to support training and upgrading skills of employees required to support new capital investment. The grant may be provided to reimburse a portion (typically 50%) of eligible training costs over a period of two full calendar years from the commencement of the project. Grants from the Skills Enhancement Fund must lead to post-secondary credentials, a nationally-recognized industry credential, or specialized company training for both new hires and existing workers, and an increase in wages for existing employees.

This announcement invites applications for basic research projects on chemical warfare agents, toxic industrial chemicals, and pesticides that have primary or secondary effects on the nervous system. Chemical threats are toxic compounds that could be used in a terrorist attack or accidentally released from industrial production, storage, or shipping. Projects supported by this NOFO are expected to generate data that elucidate mechanisms of toxicity of these agents, possible new manifestations of toxic exposures, and potential new targets for therapeutic development.

Dayton Community Development Corporation offers grants for small businesses that focus on the Downtown District of Dayton. To qualify for these programs, businesses must be within designated locations in the city. The Dayton Downtown Improvement Grant provides up to $25,000, as a 50% match for activities such as interior renovations, signage, landscaping and improvement to the building and parking lot. Along the same lines, the Dayton Small Business Grant offers funding up to $7,500 for exterior projects and also $7,500 for interior projects — on a 50% match basis.

The Community & Worker Economic Transition Office will manage the Michigan Supplier Conversion Grant Program, which has allocated $31.8 million through federal funding and state support to help small- and mid-sized automotive manufacturers shift from producing parts, components or materials for internal combustion engine vehicles to materials needed in the electric vehicle supply chain. Eligible manufacturers may use these funds to offset costs associated with fixed assets, machinery and equipment, technology and training to support the transition of new production for electric vehicles or components. Eligible applicants must be domestic entities located in Michigan that are currently manufacturing products, components or materials for internal combustion engine vehicles. Companies must either have fewer than 1,500 employees or be operating a facility with 500 or fewer employees on the site where the retooling project will take place.