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NGExpert financial copywriter
Page written by Chris Godfrey. Last reviewed on June 28, 2024. Next review due October 1, 2025.
Business grants can provide crucial funding for Ohio entrepreneurs seeking to advance their career, launch a startup, or grow their current business. Although small business grants are typically difficult to secure and come with strict qualifying rules, they have major benefits that are very hard to beat: Grants are free money. You don’t have to repay the funds. There’s no interest to pay. No debt to carry.
If you’re in Ohio and you’re looking for grant funding, you’re in a good place. The Buckeye State has many types of small business grants:
Provided by JobsOhio, a Columbus, Ohio-based private economic development corporation, the JobsOhio Inclusion grant offers businesses up to $50,000 to cover eligible costs such as machinery, equipment, buildings, new construction, land, technical improvements, and revitalization costs. Grants are shaped to support small to medium-sized businesses in distressed communities and organizations owned by minorities, women, veterans and those with disabilities. To qualify for funding, your business must have revenues of $100,000 to $25 million and have been trading for at least a year.
MORE: Find more grants for minorities, women, and black women.
The Toledo City Department of Economic Development provides grants for Toledo-based businesses. Key programs include:
Funding is available for property owners to comprehensively enhance the facade of their commercial, industrial, or mixed-use buildings. The grant reimburses 50% of eligible expenses incurred during a comprehensive facade improvement, (which is described as the principal face(s) of a building that is on a public street). The minimum reimbursement is $10,000 and the maximum is $40,000. Eligible buildings must be occupied by a business, have no active code violation citations, and be located in the City of Toledo.
The grant program is designed to incentivize property owners to bring vacant first-floor commercial spaces up to current codes to create a functional “white box” space ready for customization and occupancy by a business. The grant reimburses 70% of the eligible interior renovation expenses required to meet current state and local building code, fire safety code, and accessibility requirements, as demonstrated by stamped architectural or engineering drawings. The minimum reimbursement is $25,000 and the maximum is $75,000.
If you own a growing tech or medical business based in Clevland, Ohio, or you’re thinking of relocating there, the Tech Delta Program could work for you. The Department of Economic Development is offering grants on a square footage basis – $5 per sq. ft – up to $50,000. Funds are designed to support business infrastructure upgrades and make it easier for organizations to expand their operations. This grant can be a great alternative for businesses that do not qualify for standard ‘white box’ initiatives. To be eligible, your business must be a for-profit entity that’s moving to or expanding in Cleveland and that will create a minimum of five new full-time jobs in the process.
The City of Oxford has created a new funding opportunity for businesses in Oxford that provides capital up to $2,500 or 50% of costs for projects that improve sustainability and/or building facades. The grant can be used for either facade improvements or for sustainability improvements.
Montgomery County’s ED/GE Program, is designed to benefit local companies that create and retain jobs by investing in their growth in Montgomery County. This competitive program distributes grant funds twice a year (spring and fall) to finance permanent improvement projects (new building construction, renovation, power upgrades, plumbing, parking, etc.)
If you can’t find the type of grant you need locally, these national grant programs also provide support for Ohio business owners:
Grants.gov is a one-stop shop for businesses and individuals seeking federal grants and the federal agencies that manage the grant funds. Inside the store you’ll find twenty-six federal grant-making agencies and more than 900 grant programs that award more than $400 billion in grants per year.
If you’ve got a tech business or a scientific and engineering venture needing funds, America’s Seed Fund could be your solution. This grant program focuses on technology and scientific products and services that promise high commercial and societal impact. The program awards $200+ million in research and development (R&D) funding to about 400 startups across the United States every year. America’s Seed Fund is a program within the National Science Foundation and housed within the Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships.
Offering a total of $435,000 in awards per year, this is one the most generous grants programs available. The WomensNet Amber Grants awards multiple grants per year, with $10,000 being offered monthly in three separate categories (total of $30,000 per month available). Participants who win a monthly prize also automatically qualify for the draw for an annual $25,000 award – with three prizes available, one for each award category.
You can apply for any of these grants by completing an online application and paying a $15 entrance fee.
To help address the needs of America’s smallest businesses, the Small Business Administration (SBA) operates the Program for Investment in Microentrepreneurs (PRIME). The SBA annually awards PRIME grants to pay for training and technical support for microenterprises, or businesses with fewer than five employees and that generally lack access to conventional loans, equity, or other banking services. In 2023, the program provided grants to 32 businesses for a total value of $8 million.
Sponsored by The MamaLadder, the High Five Grant scheme claims to be the world’s longest running grant program for mom business owners. In 2023 they awarded $38,500 in grants to 24 deserving mom entrepreneurs with prizes varying from $5,000 to $1,000, To qualify for an award you must be a women caregiver with children (of any age), own at least 50% of a for-profit business and can verify your business revenues for the past 12 months.
The Kitty Fund Mompreneur Business grant is a national program that offers funding to mother-owned businesses with two or more employees. Micro grants of $1,000 will be awarded to 25 businesses in 2024. To qualify, your business must be owned by a mother, have been trading for at least one year and have annual revenues of less than $5 million.
The Second Service Foundation offers the Military Entrepreneur Challenge. This is a nationwide grant program that gives veteran, military spouses, and Gold Star Family entrepreneurs the opportunity to network, learn, and compete for capital to grow their small business. Applicants pitch their business ideas to a live audience for a chance to win a small business grant. Award sums vary by location.
MORE: Find other grants for veterans.
Ohio business owners can improve their chances of winning a small business grant by preparing in advance. Key tasks to take care of include:
Business loans may provide an alternative source of funding for your business or new venture. Online lenders will typically be the best option for this type of financing, but you may pay higher interest rates and fees than you would with traditional banks. Credit checks are standard with most commercial financing, but depending on the type of loan you choose, you may not need to provide collateral:
Term loans are the most common type of commercial loan. You receive a single, lump-sum cash injection and then pay it back in regular installments over a fixed period of up to 25 years. Collateral may be required.
A business line of credit is a business loan that functions like a high-value credit card. Borrowers can withdraw as much as they want when they want from a loan facility up to the limit of their borrowing. You only pay interest on the sums you withdraw, not the whole credit line. This can significantly reduce your borrowing costs. Collateral may be required.
Also known as account receivables financing. Borrow against the value of your unpaid invoices. The lender will usually provide up to 95% of the invoice value within a few days or even hours of the bill being raised. Your invoices act as security for the loan, no added collateral required.
Equipment loans use the asset you’re financing as security – no added collateral is required. You use the equipment as you pay for it and the lender maintains a lien on the machinery. Once you pay the loan back, the lender releases the lien, and you own the equipment outright.
Merchant cash advances are designed for businesses that accept customer payments by credit and debit card. You borrow against the value of your card sales. As your card sales increase, your borrowing limit goes up. Pay the loan back with a fixed percentage of your card sales on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. Your sales act as security for the loan, no added collateral is required.
Revenue-based financing functions like a merchant cash advance but with higher borrowing limits. Based on the size and regularity of their total revenues, (not just their credit card sales), businesses may receive a lump sum and pay it back over a short-term schedule, typically by small deductions from their daily sales. This type of loan can usually be secured quickly as qualification rules are less intensive and credit scores are not so critical. No added collateral is required.
Nonprofit and community-based lenders can provide SBA Microloans to business owners who may struggle to secure standard business financing. Available up to $50,000, SBA microloans also come with more relaxed qualifying rules and can usually be secured with FICO scores as low as 500, or even with no credit score at all. Be aware that these type of business loans often require a personal guarantee that makes you personally responsible for the debt.
Working with business finance experts can make all the difference when applying for grant funding. Contact Swoop to discuss your borrowing needs, get help with your application and compare top quality small business grants and business loans from a choice of providers. Give your business the chance it deserves. Register with Swoop today.
Written by
Chris is a freelance copywriter and content creator. He has been active in the marketing, advertising, and publishing industries for more than twenty-five years. Writing for Wells Fargo Bank, Visa, Experian, Ebay, Flywire, insurers and pension funds, his words have appeared online and in print to inform, entertain and explain the complex world of US consumer and business finance.
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