The Best Business Grants in New Jersey

NJ Economic Development Authority

This relaunch of the Atlantic City Revitalization Program (“Program”) will continue to facilitate Atlantic City’s effective utilization of allocated funds for community-driven capital projects. The goal of this Program is to proactively address the negative economic impacts of the pandemic by investing in projects that demonstrate an ability to cultivate the environment and neighborhoods necessary to attract and retain a local workforce, enable business creation and tourism, enhance downtown vitality through small business support efforts, support clean and safe initiatives, address food insecurity issues, and buttress social impact supports for the community at large. Administered by the Authority, this Program will support real estate development, specifically capital projects (each, a “Project”) in the form of Grants, to support rehabilitation or new construction, as well as other development costs associated with an award between $250,000 and a maximum award of $2.5 million in grant funding to one Project. This will then meet the requirement of “Investing in Communities” by providing funding to activate underutilized properties for community focused investments and to activate projects that will catalyze new business sectors in NJ, support communities, and improve the business community within Atlantic City. This grant will improve investment in communities by working to activate underutilized, distressed, or vacant land for projects in order to promote equitable economic growth and community wealth building in Atlantic City.

$ GRANT AMOUNT

$2,500,000

East Trenton Collaborative

This program supports East Trenton business owners who want to start a new operation within the city. The Small Business Improvement Grant—which offers up to $6,000—is available to existing businesses with five or fewer employees. The Small Business Startup Grant—which offers up to $2,000—is available to prospective entrepreneurs who need capital to cover startup costs.

$ GRANT AMOUNT

$6,000

NJ Economic Development Authority

NJ Cool is a pilot program providing financial assistance to commercial, industrial, and institutional building owners and tenants undertaking retrofit construction projects that reduce operating greenhouse gas emissions from existing buildings in Newark, Edison, and Atlantic City. Eligible businesses can get grants that cover up to 50% of a project’s total costs, with a maximum award of $1 million.

$ GRANT AMOUNT

$1,000,000

NJ Department of Environmental Protection

It Pay$ to Plug In provides grants to offset the cost of purchasing and maintaining electric vehicle charging stations. The program is designed to expand New Jersey’s growing network of electric vehicle infrastructure, allowing residents, businesses, and government agencies to purchase and drive electric vehicles. EVs dramatically reduce vehicle emissions and improve air quality for everyone.

$ GRANT AMOUNT

$80,000

NJ Economic Development Authority

The Main Street Acquisition Support Grant product is a pilot product under the Main Street Recovery Fund that will offer a grant of up to $50,000 to reimburse an eligible NJ small business for closing costs related to a New Jersey commercial property that the business purchased to operate from.

$ GRANT AMOUNT

$50,000

NJ DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

The purpose of the PACE Program is to prepare individuals to enter and succeed in Registered Apprenticeship programs. These pre-apprenticeship programs have a documented partnership with at least one Registered Apprenticeship program sponsor that is committed to hiring from the pre-apprenticeship program within 18 months from the start of the contract period of performance, and together, they expand the participant's career pathway opportunities with industry-based training coupled with classroom instruction. The program will drive economic development through skills and educational attainment and create pathways to better-paying careers and advanced credentials.

The New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Office of Apprenticeship seeks to encourage the growth of career pathway opportunities for people disconnected from employment, training, and education. Within the workforce development system, pre-apprenticeships serve a critical role for people to acquire career-specific skills, advance work-readiness, and connect them to longer-term career opportunities.

Eligible applicants can apply for funding up to $8,000 per participant.

$ GRANT AMOUNT

$100,000

NJ Economic Development Authority

New Jersey Re-assigning In State Employees (NJ RISE) is a new program to incentivize businesses to re-assign New Jersey residents who are working in another state to a New Jersey location. The $10 million NJ RISE Program will provide grants to companies to relocate its New Jersey-resident employees, ensuring a residents’ income taxes stay in New Jersey, which will help increase tax revenue.

NJ RISE’s goal is to increase New Jersey’s Gross Income Tax Withholdings by encouraging eligible businesses to re-assign their out of state New Jersey resident employees to New Jersey by issuing an incentive based upon on the employee’s withholdings. The NJ RISE Program is a pilot program that will provide grants to businesses principally located out of state that re-assign New Jersey residents currently assigned to work in a state that employs the “convenience of employer” income taxation rule to work in a New Jersey location. The grant is equal to the amount of New Jersey Gross Income Tax withholdings of the re-assigned resident employees during one tax year of the business, not to exceed $500,000 in the aggregate per business. The sum of all grants approved will not exceed $10 million per State fiscal year.

States such as Delaware, Nebraska, and New York use “convenience of employer” where an employee who resides out of state is taxed based on the employer’s assigned location. For example, if a New Jersey-resident works in a state with “convenience of employer” (State A) three days a week and from home the other two days, the employee will be taxed by State A for all five days, because the work done from home in New Jersey was at the convenience of the employer.

$ GRANT AMOUNT

$500,000

NJ Economic Development Authority

Small businesses can apply for up to $50,000 to reimburse costs for building improvements or purchasing new furniture, fixtures, and equipment through the Small Business Improvement Grant. The program has awarded close to $13 million to over 500 New Jersey businesses since February. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis until funding is exhausted. Current processing time is 8 months from the application date.

$ GRANT AMOUNT

$50,000

NJ Economic Development Authority

The Small Business Lease Grant supports the growth and success of small businesses and nonprofits by providing grant funding to cover a portion of lease payments. These resources will help the establishment and growth of small businesses, while also helping to fill space that is currently vacant and preventing future vacancies.

The Grant is being funded through the Main Street Recovery Finance Program (NJ Economic Recovery Act).

$ GRANT AMOUNT

$50,000

NJ Economic Development Authority

The SBLLG supports the purchase of an Inactive Plenary Retail Consumption Liquor License by a small business. Assisting with the purchase of an inactive plenary retail consumption liquor license supports the growth and success of New Jersey’s small service businesses. This product aligns with legislation P.L. 2023, c.290 regarding inactive plenary retail consumption liquor licenses and allows NJ small businesses the opportunity to purchase one. This grant will reimburse a NJ small business up to 50% of the cost of the inactive license, not to exceed $100,000.

$ GRANT AMOUNT

$100,000

NJ Department of Environmental Protection

The WorkClean: Diesel Modernization Program provides funding for both diesel-to-diesel and diesel-to-electric projects designed to improve air quality, especially in areas that do not meet the national air quality standards. Older, low-quality diesel vehicles and equipment operating in the State contribute heavily to air pollution, negatively affecting the health of our residents, particularly in overburdened communities. Diesel engines emit a complex mixture of air pollutants, comprised of both solid and gaseous material. The visible emissions you can see in diesel exhaust are known as particulate matter. These include many carbon particles (also called soot), as well as gases that become visible as they cool. Diesel particulate matter (diesel PM) has been identified as having the potential to cause cancer, as well as many other adverse health effects. In addition to particulate matter, emissions from diesel-fueled engines include over 40 other cancer-causing substances.

The Bureau of Mobile Sources’ Diesel Modernization Program is primarily a diesel replacement program. This program utilizes State and Federal funding to replace both marine engines and non-road diesel vehicles – anything from ferry vessels to backhoe loaders and bulldozers. Contingent upon open solicitations, the program also works with both municipalities and private entities to electrify on-road diesel vehicles, such as school buses, garbage trucks, and port equipment.

$ GRANT AMOUNT

$3,000,000

NJ Department of Environmental Protection

Transportation emissions remain the largest source of greenhouse gas pollution in the New Jersey, contributing to climate change impacts like rising temperatures, rising sea levels, and more extreme weather events. They also serve as a significant contributor for other air pollutants, like NOx and particulate matter, which have harmful environmental and health effects. Moving toward transportation electrification addresses these concerns because electric vehicles (EVs) do not produce any tailpipe emissions.

New Jersey’s low-income communities and communities of color have historically been subject to an unreasonably high number of environmental and public health stressors, including transportation emissions. As a result, residents in these areas suffer from increased adverse health effects including, but not limited to, asthma, cancer, elevated blood lead levels, cardiovascular disease, and developmental disorders.

Electric mobility solutions like carshare, rideshare, and ride hailing services provide additional modes of transport for residents in underserved areas, who often don’t own a personal vehicle and rely on public transportation. eMobility will help ensure they have access to and can benefit from the advantages of clean vehicle technology.

$ GRANT AMOUNT

$8,000,000

NJ Dept of Labor

The purpose of the GAINS program is to promote the expansion and development of United States Department of Labor (USDOL) approved Registered Apprenticeship programs that drive economic development through skills and educational attainment and create pathways to better-paying careers and advanced credentials. While this NGO describes fourteen (14) sectoral/occupational areas of focus, all occupations that are recognized by US DOL as “apprenticeable” are encouraged to apply.

Eligible applicants can request funding up to $12,000 per registered apprentice.

$ GRANT AMOUNT

$100,000