Start.Pivot.Grow. Micro Grant

The City of York Small Business BLOOM Grant Program will award grants up to $1,500 to established small businesses operating and generating revenue in the City of York for a project that will enhance productivity & operations, expand product or service offerings, or otherwise grow to the next level.

The Oklahoma Department of Commerce is offering a jobs program that refunds employers up to 10% of an employee’s net benefit rate for up to 10 years. Applicants in target industries must commit to creating 10 new direct jobs. New jobs are roles in qualifying industries that did not exist in the state in the prior six months. Employer compensation begins at 7% and increases to 10% once all 10 of the new roles are hired.

The Harris County Harris Hub program is a targeted investment in the recovery and development of Harris County’s small businesses. Harris Hub provides funding to Business Support Organizations (BSOs) to increase their capacity to provide in-depth and culturally competent technical assistance to small and microenterprises affected by the COVID19 pandemic. Harris County is working with vendors BakerRipley, ROADS Consulting, and FORWARD Platform to provide small business owners with individualized, tailored technical assistance in the areas of marketing, financial management, hiring, and more. This program is designed to target underserved small businesses, including those owned by women, veterans and persons of color. Each eligible small business can receive up to 30 hours of technical assistance. Small businesses that complete 15 hours of technical assistance in the program are eligible for a $5,000 grant (depending on available grant funding).

The goal of the NHLBI Catalyze Program is to provide a comprehensive suite of support and services to facilitate the transition of basic science discoveries into viable diagnostic and therapeutic candidates that have been cleared for human testing, and to develop translational researchers fluent in product development and entrepreneurship. This specific Catalyze Enabling Technologies and Transformative Platforms initiative will support needed to rigorously validate transformative, multi-use platforms or technologies that can enable. Well-suited applications must offer the potential to significantly accelerate and/or transform the areas of early detection and screening, model development, clinical diagnosis, treatment, control, behavior, prevention or epidemiology. Proposed platforms and technologies may have widespread applicability but must be able to improve the outlook for HLBS-related diseases and disorders.

The Farmer Veteran Fellowship Fund provides U.S. military veterans in the beginning years of farming or ranching with small grants ranging from $1,000 to $5,000 to help launch and grow their agricultural businesses. Administered by the Farmer Veteran Coalition (FVC), a national nonprofit that supports veteran-owned farm and ranch businesses, the program has awarded nearly $4 million to more than 930 veterans since 2011. The program is powered in part by Wounded Warrior Project and receives additional support from Kubota (whose "Geared To Give" equipment program is integrated into the same application), the Tractor Supply Co. Foundation, Farm Credit, AgWest, and the SBA. Rather than disbursing cash directly to recipients, the Fellowship Fund pays approved third-party vendors on the recipient's behalf for specific items the veteran identifies as crucial to the launch of their farm business. Recipients have six months from award notification to use their grant. Common purchases funded through the program include all-terrain vehicles, beekeeping equipment, breeding livestock, bulk feed, fencing, storage freezers, tractor implements, walk-behind tractors, and scholarships. To qualify, applicants must be a member of the Farmer Veteran Coalition, have served or currently be serving in any branch of the United States military, have received an Honorable characterization of service upon discharge (other characterizations are considered on a case-by-case basis), operate an agricultural business with a formal business plan, and be willing to fully participate in the Fellowship Program (which includes periodic progress reports, mentoring other farmer veterans, and a commitment to making a positive impact on the farmer veteran community). Currently serving service members must provide a letter of support from their commanding officer attesting to their characterization of service. The Fellowship is designed to support for-profit agricultural businesses; nonprofit entities are not eligible. Previous Fellowship recipients may only reapply if they were previously awarded $1,000 or less. The application opens once per year and consists of short answer and essay questions across five focus areas: military service, educational background, prior farming experience, business and financial planning, and short-term and long-term goals. Applicants are evaluated on farm training and transferable skills, personal investment in their farm business, the strength of their funding request and demonstrated ability to grow the business through the award, vision and goals for the future, and community involvement.