Texas ASCEND Grant

This program gives grants to businesses in Salem’s Riverfront Downtown area to improve their building safety and security to address homelessness. Companies can get up to $30,000 to use on security fencing/gates, exterior building lighting or security systems, trash/recycling enclosures, landscaping, interior lighting for storefronts, and building entrance improvements/

Any Massachusetts-based business that has been awarded funds through SBIR Phase II may be eligible for grants and business guidance to help them create jobs and commercialize their technologies. Each year, the program awards 17 grants ranging from $100,000 to $500,000.

The California Paid Family Leave Small Business Grant provides California small businesses with grants of up to $2,000 per employee to help offset the operational costs that arise when an employee takes leave through California's Paid Family Leave (PFL) program. Grant amounts are tiered by business size: businesses with 1 to 50 employees may receive up to $2,000 per employee utilizing PFL, and businesses with 51 to 100 employees may receive up to $1,000 per employee utilizing PFL. Funded by the State of California through the Employment Training Panel (ETP) and Labor and Workforce Development Agency (LWDA), the program is delivered through multiple community-based partner organizations that conduct outreach to California small businesses (including the CAMEO Network, which operates the current californiapfl.com application portal). Grant funds are paid directly to the employer and are intended to cover training or cross-training of existing staff to fill in for the employee on leave, hiring and training temporary or additional staff, and reasonably foreseeable recruitment, marketing, and related training costs. California's Paid Family Leave program itself allows workers to take paid leave to bond with a new child (through birth, adoption, or foster care) or to care for a seriously ill family member. To qualify, a business must have 1 to 100 employees and at least one employee who used California's Paid Family Leave program on or after the current program's qualifying start date (this date is updated with each funding round). The business must be registered to do business in California and be in active status with the California Secretary of State, and must have an active California Employer Account Number (CEAN) under which its employees are listed for payroll. Businesses that use a Professional Employer Organization (PEO) for payroll and file under the PEO's CEAN rather than their own are not eligible. As part of the application, the employer must provide the employee's EDD Customer Account Number (a 10-digit number provided directly to the employee by the EDD, distinct from a Social Security Number). Applicants may need to request this number from the employee who took leave.

The West Chester Spark Small Business Revitalization Grant provides small businesses in West Chester Township, Ohio with reimbursement grants ranging from $1,000 to $10,000 to fund aesthetic exterior improvements that beautify the "front door" of their business. Administered by the West Chester Township Board of Trustees through the Economic Development Manager, the program is designed to drive revitalization in the township's neighborhoods and business corridors by helping business owners invest in improvements that enhance the appearance of their properties. Eligible projects include exterior painting or lighting, outdoor gathering spaces (patios, seating, courtyards), hardscaping, landscaping, signage upgrades or replacements, awnings, and demolition of existing structures. Projects that have already been permitted, completed, or are underway are not eligible. To qualify, applicants must be a locally owned private business (no nonprofits or private residences), be located in West Chester Township, be either the property owner or a tenant (with written approval from the property owner), be in compliance with all federal, state, and local laws, and have 20 or fewer full-time-equivalent employees. Businesses are limited to one Spark Grant per calendar year and no more than four Spark Grants over the lifetime of the business, with the award amount reduced by 25 percent for each consecutive-year renewal. Grant amounts are determined by the strength of each application, with scoring based on the quality of the design proposal, project location, job creation and impact, the positive impact of the project on the surrounding neighborhood, and the amount of private contribution the applicant will leverage beyond the requested funds. Grants are distributed as reimbursements via ACH after project completion, and are considered taxable income for the recipient.

REDC offers grants of up to $5,000 for qualifying for-profit New Hampshire businesses with five or fewer employees to purchase equipment or machinery. Grant funding is limited and not guaranteed.