Secretsos Small Business Grant

The M&F Bank Empowering Growth Small Business Grant awards a $10,000 grant to one small business owner in each of the bank's North Carolina markets through annual application rounds rotating by geography. Administered by M&F Bank — a North Carolina-based community development financial institution founded in 1907 — the program supports small business owners across the bank's footprint in Durham, Raleigh, Winston-Salem, Greensboro, and Charlotte, with the goal of strengthening the local communities the bank serves. Each application round is open to businesses located in one specific market and the surrounding counties, and a single winner is selected per round. To qualify, applicants must be an M&F Bank business customer with accounts in good standing, have been an M&F Bank customer for at least one year prior to applying, have gross annual revenues of $750,000 or less, have been in business for ten years or fewer, employ 25 people or fewer (including the owner), and maintain an active business website. Previous grant recipients are not eligible to reapply. Nonprofits, real estate investment firms, businesses with M&F Bank vendor ties, and M&F Bank employees or their relatives are also ineligible.

This program provides grants of up to $10,000 to small businesses damaged by a fire that is no fault of their own. Grants to eligible businesses are available on a first-come-first-serve basis, based on fund availability.

The Halstead Grant is an annual award for emerging silver jewelry artists. Applicants submit answers to 15 business questions in addition to their design portfolios. The experience is designed to help jewelry entrepreneurs create a strategy to kick-start their careers. The grand prize is a $7,500 cash grant plus other benefits.

Main Street Iowa offers the Open 4 Business program to encourage business development in designated Main Street districts. The Open 4 Business contest launched in 2015, is an opportunity for businesses located within the Main Street district, to compete for a chance to win grant funds to assist with a business development or expansion project that will help you grow your business. Businesses will be required to complete an online application and submit a short video (3-minute maximum time limit) outlining your business idea and how it will benefit the local economic climate in our community. A 25% cash match is required. Businesses must have been in operation for at least 1 year to apply. The grant funds are administered by the Iowa Economic Development Authority’s Downtown Resource Center and Main Street Iowa program.

The TVFCU Idea Leap Grant is an annual pitch competition that awards a total of $300,000 in no-strings grant funding to 15 small businesses across three regional competitions, with $100,000 in prizes distributed within each region. Administered by Tennessee Valley Federal Credit Union (TVFCU) and now in its 10th annual competition, the program is funded through proceeds from TVFCU's Idea Leap Loans program and was created to reinvest those proceeds directly into local small businesses. Since launching in 2018, the program has supported nearly 90 businesses with roughly $1.2 million in total grants and scholarships. Within each of the three competing regions (the Chattanooga Region, the Ocoee Region, and the Northwest Georgia Region), the top winner receives a $50,000 grand prize, one winner receives $20,000, and three winners receive $10,000. Winners also receive prize packages that may include media packages, consulting services, and additional promotional support from regional chambers of commerce and media partners. Applicants must apply to only one of the three regional competitions based on the primary area where their business operates. The competition process runs across roughly seven months, beginning with an online application in the fall and progressing through several selection rounds: quarterfinalists submit a video and logo for judge review, semifinalists receive on-site business visits and are featured in promotional videos (which air on Local 3 for the Northwest Georgia and Ocoee competitions), finalists are selected by the judging panel with one additional People's Choice finalist selected by public vote, and finalists then receive professional pitch coaching before presenting live at regional pitch competitions in the spring. Applications are reviewed initially by an internal panel of TVFCU employees and then by external community volunteers, who serve as judges through each round including the final pitch competitions. To qualify, applicants must operate a business physically located within TVFCU's 17-county service area, which includes six counties in the Chattanooga Region (Bledsoe, Grundy, Hamilton, Marion, Rhea, and Sequatchie), four counties in the Ocoee Region (Bradley, Polk, McMinn, and Meigs), and seven counties in the Northwest Georgia Region (Catoosa, Chattooga, Dade, Gordon, Murray, Walker, and Whitfield). Applicants must be at least 18 years old, operate an active and lawful for-profit business with all necessary licenses and registrations, have been in operation and generating revenue for at least 12 months, gross less than $2.5 million in revenue, and have between 2 and 25 employees. Nonprofit organizations are not eligible. Applicants do not need to be TVFCU members to apply, but finalists selected to receive grant funding must open a TVFCU account to receive their winnings. Past applicants who have not made it to the pitch competition round are encouraged to reapply.