The Best Business Grants in Iowa
June 12, 2026
Updated:
Securing capital is often the biggest hurdle for any founder. While loans and credit cards are common, they come with the weight of repayment and interest. Grants are the ideal alternative because they generally don't have to be paid back. However, there is a catch: grants are highly competitive and can be very difficult to find. We've built this guide to help you understand the grant landscape in Iowa.
Iowa's business grant landscape reflects the state's small-town and agricultural character, with a clear focus on supporting Main Street districts, rural counties, and value-added agricultural production. Main Street Iowa runs a statewide grant competition for businesses in designated Main Street districts, while smaller cities including Walnut, Perry, and Dallas County offer their own community-level grants for new and existing local businesses. ChooseIowa anchors the state's agricultural funding with grants up to $100,000 supporting value-added products, new agricultural technologies, and alternative marketing strategies. Award sizes range from $1,500 chamber-administered grants in Perry up to $100,000 for major workforce training or agricultural value-add projects, with both rolling and fixed deadlines depending on the program.
State-level activity is concentrated in two areas: workforce development and agriculture. Iowa Workforce Development administers the Iowa Jobs Training Program for customized employee training and the Iowa STEM Internship Program, which explicitly aims to convert student interns into full-time Iowa employees and address the state's challenge of retaining recent graduates. ChooseIowa runs the state's primary agricultural grant program. Beyond these state programs, Des Moines leads urban grant activity through Invest DSM, a nonprofit partnership between the city and Polk County that runs the Invest DSM Commercial Grant for property improvements and facade upgrades.
Iowa businesses are also eligible for hundreds of national grant programs from federal agencies, corporations, and foundations. Those programs aren't covered on this page, but you can search our complete grant database to see every state and national grant your business qualifies for. You can also join our free weekly newsletter to get new Iowa grants delivered to your inbox as soon as they open.
IOWA GRANTS
Choose Iowa Grants
ChooseIowa
The Choose Iowa Grants exist to identify, evaluate and financially support programs and services that add value to agricultural products, enable new technologies and support alternative marketing strategies. These cost-share grants leverage additional private investment and were created to assist Iowa farmers, businesses and non-profits with their efforts to increase or diversify their agricultural product offerings, expand markets and shorten the supply chain. The grants work to expand access to Iowa-grown, Iowa-made, and Iowa-raised food, beverages, and other agricultural products.
There are three main grant programs under this umbrella:
-Value-Added Grant - Iincrease sales of Iowa agricultural products by increasing production capacity or expanding market access for value-added projects. Maximum awarded up to $25,000 per grant awardee.
-Dairy Innovation Grant - Award financial assistance to eligible businesses engaged in projects to create or refurbish milk plants and other dairy processing units.
-Butchery Innovation Grant - Financial support to purchase, rent, expand, or refurbish slaughter and refrigeration units for processing meat or poultry.
$ GRANT AMOUNT
$100,000
Dallas County Small Business Grant Fund
Dallas County Development Alliance
The Greater Dallas County Development Alliance has officially opened applications for the next round of its Small Business Grant Fund, which provides monetary support to small businesses in the Dallas County area. The grant program, which launched last year, aims to fund applicants looking for financial assistance in key growth areas such as furniture and fixtures, technology, marketing, and professional development.
A total of $20,000 in funding is available, and applications are open from April 1 through May 31. Last year, five small businesses representing a range of industries were awarded funding through the program.
$ GRANT AMOUNT
$5,000
Invest DSM Commercial Grant
Invest DSM
The Invest DSM Commercial Grant Program provides Des Moines commercial property owners and small businesses with matching grants of up to $50,000 to fund deferred maintenance, repairs, code compliance upgrades, and facade improvements. Administered by Invest DSM, a nonprofit partnership between the City of Des Moines and Polk County focused on revitalizing select Des Moines neighborhoods, the program is available to property owners and business owners (whether they own or lease their space) located within one of Invest DSM's designated Special Investment Districts.
The grant operates as a dollar-for-dollar match covering half of project expenses up to $50,000 per retail bay, with an additional matching grant of up to $10,000 available to cover pre-development costs such as architectural drawings, project feasibility studies, environmental studies, and interior or window display design assistance. For external aesthetic improvements like signage, window displays, and facade work, applicants who collaborate with one of Invest DSM's artists on a custom design can receive 70 percent of those costs covered. Eligible uses include facade, signage, and awning updates, roof, window, and door replacement or repair, major systems and code compliance upgrades, public art such as murals, exterior site improvements like patios, concrete work, landscaping, and parking lot repaving, and energy-efficiency upgrades including solar and wind installation. Applicants must be current on all municipal and county dues, fees, and taxes. In addition to grant funds, recipients also receive one-on-one consultation, advice, and technical support from Invest DSM specialists throughout the entire project.
$ GRANT AMOUNT
$50,000
Iowa Jobs Training Program
Iowa Valley BCS
This training program helps Iowa businesses fund customized training for current employees. The program is designed to foster the growth and competitiveness of Iowa’s business and industry by ensuring that Iowa’s workforce has the skills and expertise to compete with any workforce outside the state of Iowa. The grant covers basic adult education, job-related instruction (or on-the-job training), skills assessments, testing and evaluation of employees, and travel reimbursement.
Each of Iowa’s community colleges assists businesses with the development of training plans that are funded by forgivable loans. The maximum award is $25,000 for each project at a business site. A business site may be approved for multiple projects-with maximum funding over three years not to exceed $100,000. A cash match is required for projects exceeding $4,999.
$ GRANT AMOUNT
$100,000
Iowa STEM Internship Program
Iowa Workforce Development
The Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) internship program provides grant awards to Iowa businesses to help them support and grow student internship opportunities in STEM fields with the goal of transitioning student interns to full-time employment in Iowa upon graduation.
Eligible employers may qualify for awards up to $50,000 per fiscal year.
$ GRANT AMOUNT
$50,000
Perry Business Support Grant
Perry Chamber of Commerce
The Perry Chamber of Commerce Foundation has created a business development grant program to support Perry businesses in need of working capital for products, services, equipment, marketing, education, new staffing, or other improvements.
The Perry Business Support Grant will provide up to $1,500 to individual applicant businesses able to showcase their identified need and how the funding dollars will be utilized to address challenges.
$ GRANT AMOUNT
$1,500
Walnut Small Business Grant
City of Walnut
The Small Business Start-Up Grant is designed to encourage entrepreneurs to support businesses in Walnut. The program provides up to $5,000.00 in grant funds to eligible businesses located in commercial districts within the city limits of Walnut.
$ GRANT AMOUNT
$5,000
Main Street Iowa Open 4 Business Grant
Main Street Iowa
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.
$ GRANT AMOUNT
$25,000
Don't stop at state-level funding
Most business grants aren't geographic, they're tied to your industry, your stage, or your team. Our database tracks 500+ programs across every category, and our free newsletter delivers new grants to your inbox each week.