Small business grant opportunities to apply for in August
August brings a fresh roundup of funding and support opportunities for small businesses. Explore grants, accelerators, pitch competitions, and other programs accepting applications throughout the month.
Shophand $5k Small Business Boost Grant
Amount: $2,500 + $2,500 in resources
Deadline: 8/1/26
Overview: The Shophand Small Business Boost Grant provides $2,500 in no-strings-attached cash and $2,500 in Shophand technical support + services to help non-techie small business owners solve key tech or operations challenges. The grant is awarded three times a year to give small business owners the support they need to run more smoothly.
South Side Pitch
Amount: $40,000
Deadline: 8/3/26
Overview: South Side Pitch is an annual business pitch competition showcasing and celebrating the many creative and promising South Side Chicago businesses and entrepreneurs. Finalists pitch to a panel of judges and a live audience at the Polsky Exchange North, competing for over $40,000 in prizes.
Project W Tech Equity Hub
Deadline: 8/3/26
Overview: The Tech Equity Hub is an intensive program for women founders of pre-seed B2B or B2B2C software or AI companies who face barriers to networks and capital. The program includes virtual sessions, two in-person days in New York City, investor presentations, workshops, networking, and subsidized travel support. Eligible companies must not have raised institutional capital and should have core technology, a large market opportunity, and a pathway to revenue growth.
LA Community Opportunities Flexible Fund
Amount: up to $70,000
Deadline: 8/3/26
Overview: The First 5 LA Community Opportunities Flexible Fund provides 10-month grants of up to $70,000 for Los Angeles County systems-change efforts that help children prenatal to age five and their families meet basic needs, including reducing infant mortality, poverty, and housing insecurity. Eligible applicants include nonprofits, fiscally sponsored projects, membership organizations, social-impact businesses, and government or tribal entities, with strong proposals expected to be community-driven and rooted in Los Angeles County.
EforAll Business Accelerator Program
Deadline: 8/6/26
Overview: The EforAll Business Accelerator Program is a free, 12-week online program designed to help aspiring entrepreneurs turn their ideas into successful businesses. It offers hands-on business training, mentorship from experienced professionals, and peer support teams for collaboration and accountability. Participants gain access to online resources, office hours, and a final showcase event, empowering them to build critical skills, confidence, and real momentum for business growth.
Allies for Community Business Neighborhood Entrepreneurship Lab (NEL)
Amount: $20,000
Deadline: 8/7/26
Overview: A4CB’s Neighborhood Entrepreneurship Lab (NEL) is a three-month, cohort-based program that provides entrepreneurs with capital, coaching, and connections by pairing them with investors, advisors, and strategists. Each participating business receives a $20,000 grant to support growth. To be eligible, businesses must have started operations before January 1, 2024, earned at least $75,000 in 2025 revenue, and be seeking to develop a growth strategy.
U.S. Chamber of Commerce CO-100 America's Top 100 Small Business
Amount: $25,000
Deadline: 8/7/26
Overview: The CO—100 is an annual awards program from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce recognizing America's top 100 small businesses across 10 categories including Growth Accelerators, Community Champions, Tech Innovators, and Culture Champions, with businesses able to enter up to five categories. The top business winner receives a $25,000 award, while honorees receive national media exposure, a dedicated business profile, VIP event invitations in Washington D.C., and a one-year U.S. Chamber membership.
MIT Solve Truist Foundation Inspire Awards
Amount: up to $250,000
Deadline: 8/7/26
Overview: The Truist Foundation Inspire Awards support 501(c)(3) nonprofits in the Truist operating footprint that are developing innovative direct services, training programs, and career navigation supports for adult workers in the age of AI. Fifteen semifinalists receive $10,000 in capacity-building funding, six finalists join a six-month support program, and final pitch awards include $250,000 for first place, $150,000 for second place, $75,000 for Community Favorite, and $25,000 for each runner-up.
Multiple Autism Tech Accelerator
Deadline: 8/7/26
Overview: The Multiple Autism Tech Accelerator is a 12-week program for early-stage startups building scalable solutions on the autism community's needs. Participants receive tailored mentorship, workshops, expert office hours, peer mastermind sessions, investor introductions, and pitch preparation through Multiple’s network of more than 700 members. Applications for the next cohort are due August 7.
HubSpot Grow Getter Grant
Amount: $2,500
Deadline: 8/7/26
Overview: The Grow Getter Grant is a pitch competition from HubSpot for Startups and Startup Grind that awards one early-stage founder a $2,500 grant along with promotional exposure and visibility. It is designed for venture-backable startups that have raised less than $2 million and are already testing, selling, and building momentum.
Environmental Sustainability Entrepreneurship Program
Deadline: 8/8/26
Overview: Environmental Sustainability Entrepreneurship Program is a free 16-week program for underserved entrepreneurs in the Denver metro area building environmental products or services, funded by JPMorganChase Foundation. Must commit to weekly virtual workshops Tuesday–Thursday from 9–11am MT plus an in-person immersive August 8–13 and a Summit on November 18, 2026. The priority application deadline is June 21, 2026, with final selections announced July 13, 2026 and the program running August 8–November 18, 2026.
Conscious Venture Lab Accelerator Program – Baltimore
Amount: up to $125,000 investment for 5–10% equity
Deadline: 8/9/26
Overview: The Conscious Venture Lab (CVL) Accelerator Program is a 14–16 week accelerator for early-stage, purpose-driven startups, especially those led by diverse and underestimated founders, focused on building high-growth companies that also create social impact. Selected teams receive free tuition, a structured curriculum rooted in Conscious Capitalism/Stakeholder Theory, plus hands-on mentorship, networking, and resources like workspace; companies may be eligible for up to $125,000 in post-program funding (typically for 5–10% equity) through CVL’s partner fund after the program.
Alternative Exposure Grant Program for Bay Area Artist-led Public Projects
Amount: up to $5,000
Deadline: 8/10/26
Overview: Southern Exposure’s Alternative Exposure Round 20 supports Bay Area visual arts projects that present work by multiple artists, with funding available to individuals, collectives, and informal art spaces with annual budgets under $100,000. Projects must be publicly accessible in an eligible Bay Area county, take place between October 1, 2026 and June 30, 2028, and demonstrate artistic strength, community impact, and meaningful support for local artists—particularly those historically excluded from arts institutions.
Milwaukee Commercial Revitalization Grants
Amount: up to $25,000
Deadline: 8/13/26
Overview: The Commercial Revitalization Fund, run by Milwaukee’s Department of City Development, provides grants to businesses and property owners to renovate storefronts, improve building facades, and activate vacant commercial spaces to strengthen neighborhood business corridors. It includes multiple programs with varying funding caps (generally covering up to 50% of project costs), such as signage, façade improvements, storefront activation, and retail investment tied to job creation. Overall, the fund aims to enhance the physical appearance, economic activity, and vitality of commercial areas in the city.
Chicago Neighborhood Opportunity Fund (NOF)
Amount: up to $250,000
Deadline: 8/14/26
Overview: A capital development grant program provided by City of Chicago Department of Planning and Development that supports small business and cultural projects located on eligible commercial corridors on the West, Southwest, and South Sides of Chicago. Grants reimburse up to 75% of eligible project expenses for new construction, storefront build-outs, facade repair, etc.
Detroit Green Grocer Program Grant
Amount: up to $25,000
Deadline: 8/15/26
Overview: The Green Grocer Program provides grants of up to $25,000 to help Detroit retailers open neighborhood grocery stores or expand existing stores with fresh food, produce, and grocery essentials. Funding can be used for equipment, technology, inventory, and store buildouts, with future loan financing of up to $50,000 (or $100,000 for certain larger-format stores) also planned to support healthy food access across Detroit.
Fresno Expanded Access to Arts and Culture (EAAC) Grant Program
Amount: $1,000–$75,000
Deadline: 8/15/26
Overview: The Expanded Access to Arts and Culture Grant Program offers $1,000–$75,000 for individual artists and unincorporated groups developing publicly accessible cultural projects for Fresno residents. ACTA is accepting up to 10 fiscal sponsorship applicants, with priority for traditional arts, folklife, cultural heritage, and community-based cultural traditions; ACTA will retain a 10% administrative fee from awarded funds. Eligibility screenings are due August 15, 2026, and full applications are due September 30, 2026.
Rare Beauty x JCPenney LIFT Beauty Accelerator
Amount: $10,000
Deadline: 8/21/26
Overview: The LIFT Beauty Accelerator supports three early-stage, U.S.-based beauty brands led by founders from underrepresented communities. Each selected brand receives at least $10,000 in non-dilutive funding, practical mentorship, more than $24,000 in in-kind testing and design services, and the opportunity to pitch JCPenney for potential retail distribution.
Amika Rooted in Growth Grant Program
Amount: $50,000
Deadline: 8/21/26
Overview: The Rooted in Growth Grant and Mentorship Program will award four U.S.-based hair care businesses $50,000 in flexible funding, along with strategic mentorship, industry networking, and brand visibility through Amika and the Fifteen Percent Pledge. The program is designed for underserved founders with less than $2.5 million in annual revenue who are building inclusive consumer hair care brands and want to expand into professional distribution channels.
NC IDEA MICRO Grant
Amount: $10,000
Deadline: 8/24/26
Overview: The NC IDEA MICRO Grant provides North Carolina startups with $10,000 in project-based funding to validate key business assumptions, strengthen their business model, and reach measurable milestones. Recipients also complete an eight-week customer discovery and product launch program, receive guidance from NC IDEA staff, and gain access to mentors, funders, partners, and potential customers.
Community Action Research Initiative (CARI) Grants
Amount: up to $3,000
Deadline: 8/28/26
Overview: The Community Action Research Initiative (CARI) Grants provide up to $3,000 for projects that use sociological knowledge and methods to address community-based problems in partnership with a community organization or action initiative. Eligible applicants must hold a PhD in sociology or be enrolled in a PhD-granting sociology graduate program; ASA membership is not required to apply but is required to receive funding.
Inner Sunset Neighborhood Vibrancy Fund
Amount: $5,000–$20,000
Deadline: 8/28/26
Overview: The Inner Sunset Neighborhood Vibrancy Fund provides $5,000–$20,000 grants to ground-floor, brick-and-mortar businesses in San Francisco’s Inner Sunset to improve storefronts, strengthen business operations, or activate vacant commercial spaces. Funding is available through three tracks—Storefront Beautification, Technical Assistance, and Storefront Activation—with eligibility and permitted uses varying by track. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.
Hey Helen Grant
Amount: $10,000
Deadline: 8/30/26
Overview: The Hey Helen Grant gives $10,000 in financial support to women founders building impactful, mission-driven businesses in the U.S. Funds can be used for operations, growth, marketing, hiring, or infrastructure. $15 application fee.
Money Moves Pitch Competition
Amount: $10,000 prize pool
Deadline: 8/30/26
Overview: The Money Moves Pitch Competition, presented by JCPenney, awards $10,000 in total cash prizes to three U.S.-based, woman-owned businesses, with awards of $5,000, $3,500, and $1,500. Finalists also receive personalized coaching, mentorship, and opportunities to showcase their businesses as part of the Money Moves Summit, and both product- and service-based businesses – including those still in the idea stage – may apply.
SpringWell 360 Health Equity Grant
Amount: $1,000
Deadline: 8/31/26
Overview: Supports students and professionals leading projects that advance health equity in underserved communities. Open to proposals focused on education, outreach, research, or innovation.
Beasley Detroit Small Business Grant Program
Amount: $10,000 in advertising support
Deadline: 8/31/26
Overview: The Beasley Detroit Small Business Grant Program will award 10 Metro Detroit and Southeast Michigan businesses with advertising packages valued at $10,000 each across Beasley Media Group’s radio stations and digital platforms. Designed to help local businesses increase visibility and attract customers, the program is open to companies with less than $5 million in annual revenue that have operated for at least two years, with recipients selected based on growth potential and community impact.
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