Topeka Small Business Incentives

The Prosperity Investment Program (PIP) provides Portland businesses and commercial property owners with reimbursable matching grants of up to $75,000 to fund tenant improvements and small to large scale building improvements. Administered by Prosper Portland, the program covers up to 75 percent of approved project hard and soft costs, with the grantee responsible for the remaining 25 percent match. PIP is designed to support business competitiveness and property redevelopment in order to increase access to quality employment, foster wealth creation through business ownership, and build healthy, vibrant commercial corridors. Eligible hard costs include signage, lighting, storefront improvements, mechanical systems, tenant improvements, roofs, sidewalks, parking lots, landscaping, and other permanent fixtures. Eligible soft costs (capped at $25,000) include architectural, engineering, environmental, market, or financial analysis services associated with physical construction. To qualify, properties must be located within one of Portland's eligible Tax Increment Finance (TIF) Districts (Central Eastside, Gateway Regional Center, Interstate Corridor, Lents Town Center, Old Town, or North Macadam), be zoned for commercial, mixed use, employment, industrial, or multi-dwelling use, and have all property taxes and debt payments current. Each TIF district has its own action plan priorities that guide grant review, ranging from preserving industrial maker space and retail activation in Central Eastside to supporting historic preservation and retail vibrancy in Old Town. National franchises, locally owned franchises with more than three locations, nonprofits (except those located in Old Town), businesses that exclude minors during business hours, and any work completed before a grant agreement is executed are not eligible. A grant recipient or property may only receive one PIP grant every five years.

The Lifting Up Small Businesses in Lubbock Grant provides Lubbock, Texas small businesses with $5,000 grants, with 25 businesses selected to receive funding per cycle. Administered through a partnership between Optimum Business and the Lubbock Chamber of Commerce, the program is designed to directly support local small businesses, strengthen the Lubbock business community, and foster broader economic growth across the city. Beyond the cash grant, grant recipients who are not current Lubbock Chamber of Commerce members receive a free one-year chamber membership (with the option to renew), while non-selected applicants receive a free six-month chamber membership. As part of the application, business owners must describe how the grant funding would help their business expand while also making a positive impact on the community where they operate. To qualify, applicants must operate a business with a brick-and-mortar location in Lubbock within one of the following eligible zip codes (79401, 79403, 79404, 79407, 79409, 79410, 79411, 79412, 79413, 79414, 79415, 79416, 79423, or 79424), employ 25 or fewer full-time employees, and be willing to participate in promotional materials for the grant program. Lubbock Chamber of Commerce membership and Optimum Business customer status are not considered in the evaluation.

The Kauai Hurricane Lowell Business Recovery Grant provides Kauai, Hawaii small businesses and nonprofit organizations affected by Hurricane Lowell with grants of $5,000 or $10,000 to support their recovery. Administered by the Chamber of Commerce Hawaii in partnership with the State of Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism (DBEDT), the program distributes $2 million in grant funding made available by the State of Hawaii. Grant amounts are tiered by business size: the Tier 1 Micro Enterprise Grant provides $5,000 to businesses with annual gross revenue under $250,000 and 1 to 10 employees (including the owner), while the Tier 2 Small Business Grant provides $10,000 to businesses with annual gross revenue of $250,000 to $5,000,000 and 11 to 500 employees. When a business's revenue and employee count fall into different tiers, annual revenue is the deciding factor. To qualify, applicants must be a non-agricultural business or nonprofit organization physically operating on Kauai prior to September 7, 2026, and impacted by Hurricane Lowell on September 7 and 8, 2026. At least one business owner must be a Hawaii resident, the business or nonprofit must have been registered with the Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA) prior to September 7, 2026, and the applicant must be current on state and federal taxes. Applicants must demonstrate material, economic, or physical harm directly caused by Hurricane Lowell, and claims must be for unmet storm-related needs not already covered by insurance or other public or private recovery assistance. Home-based businesses that meet all other eligibility requirements are eligible to apply. Applications are submitted online through the Chamber's Submittable application portal (mail-in applications are not accepted). The Chamber of Commerce Hawaii aims to complete application reviews within 15 business days, and approved grants are typically disbursed within 30 days after approval. Applications are reviewed in the order they are received, and grants are distributed until funding is exhausted. Applicants who receive a denial may submit an appeal with additional documentation within 10 business days. Application forms and assistance are available in English along with Hawaiian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Spanish, Tagalog, and Vietnamese. Additional application assistance is available through the Kauai Small Business Development Center.

WomensNet founded the Amber Grant in 1998. The grant was set up with one goal in mind: to honor the memory of a very special young woman, Amber Wigdahl, who died at just 19 years old before realizing her business dreams. Today, WomensNet carries on that tradition, proudly giving away at least $30,000 every month in Amber Grant money.

The LA County Sidewalk Vending Cart Program provides mobile food and merchandise vendors operating in unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County or within the City of Los Angeles with free California Retail Food Code-compliant food carts, along with accompanying grant funding to support business formalization. Administered by the Los Angeles County Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) in partnership with the Los Angeles City Community Investment Department (CID), the program distributes 341 fully permitted carts at no cost while supplies last. Vendors operating in the unincorporated areas of LA County may also qualify for a $5,000 grant to cover operational costs and permitting fees (available alongside fruit, hot-holding, cold-holding, or integrated grill cart awards, but excluding the raw-to-cooked cart), or for a $500 grant for merchandise-only vendors (selling goods exclusively, no food or beverages) to help with business registration and compliance costs. The program distributes five types of California Health Code-compliant carts, each approved by the LA County Department of Public Health: Cold-Hold Carts (for commercially prepackaged ice cream), Cut Fruit Carts (for assorted fresh-cut or whole fruit and prepackaged low-risk items), Hot-Holding Carts (for prepackaged hot foods and precooked items from a permitted kitchen or commissary), Integrated Grill Carts (for reheating and serving precooked meat and items prepared off-site), and Raw-to-Cooked Carts (a newer, advanced cart equipped to safely handle, store, and cook raw proteins and ingredients on-site). Awardees receive multilingual technical assistance throughout the process to help secure the required Compact Mobile Food Operations (CMFO) Health Permit from the LA County Department of Public Health (with a 75 percent CMFO permit subsidy from DEO), along with the Sidewalk Vending Registration Certificate (for unincorporated areas) or the City of Los Angeles Sidewalk and Park Vending Permit, and related requirements such as the California Seller’s Permit, Food Handler Certificate, commissary space, and Fictitious Business Name (FBN/DBA) registration. To qualify, applicants must be at least 18 years old, live in Los Angeles County, operate a sidewalk vending business in either the unincorporated areas of LA County or the City of Los Angeles, be self-employed and operate no more than one permitted cart at any given time, vend non-prepackaged food (for the food cart program), and demonstrate the ability to transport and store the cart in accordance with California Health Code regulations. Vendors in the City of Los Angeles must additionally demonstrate direct financial impact from the COVID-19 pandemic, since that portion of the program is funded by federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) recovery dollars. Applicants cannot have previously received a code-compliant cart or equivalent equipment from any other public or government source, and only one cart will be awarded per address or applicant. The application is a two-phase process. Applicants first complete the online application for eligibility review, with notifications typically sent within 2 to 4 weeks. If conditionally accepted, applicants must then attend mandatory Sidewalk Vending and CMFO educational workshops, secure the required business documents, confirm cart transportation and storage logistics, submit the Public Health CMFO Permit Application, obtain the finalized CMFO Health Permit and sidewalk vending permit, and complete final cart pickup. The entire process from initial application to cart distribution typically takes up to 8 weeks. Applications are reviewed and scored monthly, with a lottery used when the number of qualified applicants at the same score exceeds the carts available in that month. Applications not selected automatically roll over for consideration in future months until all carts have been distributed.