Last Updated: 12/14/16

In the past, we’ve done our fair share of web searching and researching on grants and non-profits. We’ve compiled this page as (hopefully) a one-stop shop for all your info. needs on the subject.

Feel free to let us know in the comments if you have additions, edits, or found one to be particularly useful!

Recently Added

*NEW* – Lending Tree Small Business Grant Contest – LendingTree is offering support in the form of a $50,000 grant to help one small business achieve even more success. Tell them about your business, how you would use the prize money and why your business deserves this grant for a chance to win. Opportunity is knocking! *US-based

Educational & Quick Resources

Business Link Resources [in the UK]

Business.gov – [Excerpt on Financing Your Business]

How To Write a Business Plan [Including a section on financials, via opencolleges.edu]

Loans and Grants Search Tool [Get a full list of grant, loan, and venture capital programs for which you might qualify.]

Resource Development Course – [Distance education course in resource development taught by an expert in the field – Jimmie Alford.]

WSJ Small Business Funding  [How to Get Government Grants for Training]

Application-Based Grant Opportunities

Government Grants Website [Find & Browse Grant Opportunities]

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation – Grants & Business Training [The issues they engage in are wildly disparate, but they share the characteristics of being deeply rooted, dynamic, and complex.]

Minority &/or Women-Focused Programs

Note: Federal and state government agencies do not provide grants to minorities for starting a business. However, there are a number of low-interest loan programs that help individuals obtain startup financing. Some non-profit and local organizations provide a small number of grants to help minorities and those in economic disadvantaged communities to start and expand businesses.

Pro Tip: Use the Loans and Grants Search Tool (listed above) to get a full list of programs for which you might qualify.

ACCION USA Small Business Loans [Offers flexible loans (up to $50,000) to small business owners who have limited or no access to traditional business credit, including women and minorities.]

California: Women’s Economic Ventures Small Business Loan Fund [Low interest business loans available to women-owned businesses in Santa Barbara or Ventura County that are unable to meet traditional bank lending criteria.]

Delaware Access Program [Low collateral loan program geared to small businesses, including minority and women-owned businesses.]

Hawaii Consumer Micro-Loan Program [Provides low-cost loans up to $7,500 to Native Hawaiians who are experiencing temporary financial hardship due to unforeseen events, or who wish to enhance their careers.]

Illinois Minority, Women, and Disabled Participation Loan Program [Small businesses that are 51 percent owned and managed by persons who are minorities, women, or disabled, with loans up to loans up to $50,000 or 50 % of the total project.]

Iowa Target Small Business Assistance Program [Provides loans, loan guaranty, and equity grants of up to $50,000 to help women, minorities and persons with disabilities start and expand their businesses.]

Massachusetts BDC Capital Community Loans [Financing programs for women-owned, minority-owned businesses.]

Mississippi Capital Access Loan Program [Provides financing for borrowers who, for various reasons, might have difficulty in obtaining conventional loans. Borrowers must apply for a loan through a lending institution.]

Mississippi Minority Business Enterprise Loan Program [Assists new and existing minority businesses in gaining access to needed capital in the form of direct low-interest loans.]

Montana Indian Equity Fund [A grant to assist a current Native American business or a new Native American business owner. The funds are available only to enrolled members of Montana’s federally recognized tribes in Montana and to enrolled members of the Little Shell Chippewa Tribe.]

Nebraska: Ho-Chunk Community Development Corporation Small Business Loan [Microloans available to any new or existing business or community development project that is located on or near the Winnebago Indian Reservation.]

New Jersey Urban Plus [Provides financial support to small, women- or minority-owned businesses, manufacturers, redevelopers and non-profit organizations in the following endorsed New Jersey municipalities: Camden, Trenton, Newark, Jersey City, Paterson, Elizabeth, East Orange, New Brunswick, and Atlantic City.]

New Mexico Community Development Loan Fund [Assists businesses and non-profits that provide positive social benefits, meet other special requirements, and are unable to access loans from traditional sources, such as banks. Particular emphasis is placed on helping low-income people, women and minorities.]

New York: Micro Loans for Minority and Women Owned Businesses Listing of organizations that provide micro loans to businesses who often do not qualify for bank loans as well as one-on-one counseling and business development assistance to facilitate credit-readiness. Funds are provided by the state’s Community Development Financial Institution Assistance Program.

Office of Minority Health – Resource Center Funding Database – OMH-RC has also developed both a Funding Guide as a source of information for grantseekers.

Ohio Mini-Loan Guarantee Program [Provides loan guarantees for fixed assets for small business (start-up or existing business expansion) for projects of $100,000 or less. The state has targeted 50 percent of the guarantee funds for allocation to businesses owned by minorities and women.]

Pennsylvania Minority Business Development Authority [Low-interest loan financing to businesses owned and operated by ethnic minorities. Funds may be used for fixed assets including land and building acquisition; building, construction and renovation; machinery and equipment acquisition and installation; and working capital.]

Tennessee Small and Minority-Owned Business Assistance Program [Financial assistance for new, expanding and existing businesses in Tennessee that do not have reasonable access to capital markets and traditional commercial lending facilities.]

USDA Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers [Makes and guarantees loans to approved socially disadvantaged applicants to buy and operate family-size farms and ranches.]

Wisconsin Linked Deposit Loan Subsidy [Provides an interest rate subsidy on lender financing to women or minorities who start-up or expand a business.]

For Non-profits

Digital Marketing Plan for Non-Profits: The Definitive Guide – Updated 2017 by Jason Firch of nonprofitssource.com

Aspen Institute: Nonprofit Sector Research Fund – [The Nonprofit Sector Research Fund supports and disseminates relevant, high quality research to improve the operations of nonprofit organizations and inform public policies affecting them.]

Association of Fundraising Professionals – [For more than 40 years, AFP has been the standard-bearer for professionalism in fundraising. The Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) represents 25,000 members in 165 chapters throughout the United States , Canada and Mexico , working to advance philanthropy through advocacy, research, education, and certification programs.]

Carnegie Library Foundation Center – [The Foundation Center is a resource for nonprofit organizations and individuals seeking information about grants and grantmaking orgs.]

Council on Foundations — [Looking for a Grant or Grant Funding? – The Foundation Center is an independent national service organization established by foundations to provide an authoritative source of information on foundation and corporate giving.]

DonorDigital.com – [Donordigital, LLC, was founded in October 1999 by Nick Allen and Mal Warwick. Donordigital is a company that helps nonprofits use the Internet for fundraising, marketing, advocacy, and e-commerce. Based in San Francisco , California , Donordigital develops Internet strategies and membership and fundraising programs, builds Web sites, helps organizations arrange sponsorships with major Internet sites, and runs online promotions.]

Environmental Grant Makers Association – [The EGA exists as a voluntary association of foundations and giving programs concerned with the protection of the natural environment.]

Foundation Center: Finding Funders – [The Center’s mission is to foster public understanding of the foundation field by collecting, organizing, analyzing, and disseminating information on foundations, corporate giving, and related subjects.]

Fund$Raiser Cyberzine – [A free digital magazine dedicated to bringing the world the latest and most complete news and ideas in fundraising.]

Funding Alert – [Monthly e-mail with current funding opportunities sorted by category. Published by the Society for nonprofit organizations.]

The Giving Institute – [Since 1935, their Member Firms have served clients of every size and purpose-from local to international-in the arts, culture, and humanities; health; education; human services; religion; advocacy; public/society benefit; the environment and wildlife; and international affairs-in cities, suburbs and rural areas-virtually every type of nonprofit organization. Each year, the Association publishes, Giving USA to provide the latest facts and figures on philanthropic giving.]

The Grantsmanship Center – [A leading source of training and funding information.]

Grant Forward (Formerly IRIS (Illinois Researcher Information Service)) – This service also contains about 7,000 funding entries.

Grant Sources for Educators – [Sources of educational grants maintained by Kathy Schrock.]

Grants Information Center – The Grants Information Center is located in Memorial Library at the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus. It is one of a network of approximately 200 collections established by the Foundation Center, an independent national service organization in New York, to provide an authoritative source of information on foundation and corporate giving for nonprofit organizations.

Justgiving Online Personal Fundraising Pages – Justgiving provides easy, affordable and powerful web-based tools to help you raise more money and simplify administration. Your supporters set up their own pages where they tell their story and describe their passion for your cause with their own pictures and text. They invite their family, friends and colleagues to visit their page and support them by making a secure online donation.

Marquette University – Memorial Library – Funding Information Center – Marquette University’s Funding Information Center is one of over two hundred worldwide cooperating collections of the Foundation Center in New York City. A Resource for Nonprofit Organizations, Grantseekers and Fundraisers

Pivot Funding Opportunities Database – [Maintained by the Community of Science Web Site – (Subscription Required)]

Did we miss any? Have any other great resources? Did one of the above help you? Share in the comments below!