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NGExpert financial copywriter
Page written by Chris Godfrey. Last reviewed on July 4, 2024. Next review due October 1, 2025.
Business grants are effectively free money – there’s no need to repay the funds if you use them as you said you would – and they’re a great way for Texans to launch or finance a business or create opportunities to support their community.
Texas small business owners and entrepreneurs can improve their chances of winning a business grant by preparing in advance. Key tasks to take care of include:
If you’re in Texas and you’re looking for grant funding, you’re in a good place. The Lone Star State has many small business grants available.
The TWC’s Skills for Small Business grant program provides funding to help small businesses invest in training full-time employees. Employees can enroll in training offered by their local community colleges, technical colleges or the Texas Engineering Extension Service. Businesses may receive up to $1,800 per year for each new employee and $900 for every existing employee. Your business must have fewer than 100 employees to be eligible for this grant.
The National Young Farmers Coalition offers the Young Farmer Grant Program. The program offers 75 grants, each worth $5,000, plus membership to the National Young Farmers Coalition. Recipients can use funds to cover the costs of starting, running and growing farm operations, with no additional limitations.
MORE: Discover other grants for farmers.
The Texas Enterprise Fund awards ‘deal-closing’ grants to support companies planning a new project, including a facility opening or expansion, (single site), that will create new jobs and bring significant capital investment to Texas. Your Texas-based business site must be competing with out-of-state entities in the project. Awards are calculated on the average wage of new employees and will vary on a case-by-case basis. Your project must create a minimum of 75 part-time or 25 full-time new jobs to qualify.
The Texas Job Creators grant program is open to Texas-based small businesses with a founder who belongs to one of the following categories: Latinx, Black, Asian, LGBTQ+, military veteran, women or located in a low-to-moderate income area. A total funding pot of $50,000 will be shared by 10 businesses in 2024. The application window opens in August and the winners are announced in September.
MORE: Search other grants for veterans, black women and minorities.
If you’re seeking grant money and your business is at least 51% owned and controlled by one or more women who are US citizens or US permanent residents, the Texas Woman’s University Center for Women Entrepreneurs StartHER grant could be your ideal solution. 25 grants of $5,000 each will be awarded in 2024. Use the funds for a wide range of purposes, including purchasing equipment, inventory or raw goods, or running your marketing and social media campaigns. Note that your business must have no more than five full-time employees (2 x part-timers count as one full-timer) to be eligible for this grant.
MORE: Other business grants for women business owners.
Another annual grant program offered by Texas Woman’s University, the Veteran Woman Entrepreneur grant program is open to female veterans in Texas who are starting or currently own an existing business. Five grants of $5,000 are awarded every year.
Provided by the Texas Department of Agriculture in partnership with the US Small Business Administration, the Texas State Trade Expansion Program (STEP) aims to increase the number of small Texas-based exporters, and to increase the value of exports for small businesses that are currently exporting. To qualify, your business must be for-profit, located in the US and registered as a US entity with at least 51% of your exported goods being of US origin. Grant awards of up to $10,000, (with your business providing at least $2,500 in matching funds), are available to support and grow your organization’s export capabilities.
MORE: See other grants for farmers.
Sometimes, where you’re based can make a big difference. These grants are available for businesses located in specific Texas cities:
Provided by Wells Fargo Bank in partnership with the Houston Equity Fund, the Open for Business Grant Program provides funding to diverse-owned small businesses with 100 or fewer employees and who are located in vulnerable communities in Houston. Grant awards range from $5,000 to $100,000 and can be used for the purchase of property, equipment and other key assets.
Verizon are offering $10,000 grants to Houston-based businesses who sign up for the Verizon Small Business Digital Ready platform (free to join), and complete two small business learning modules in their virtual classroom. Learning modules include expert business mentoring, coaching, peer-to-peer networking, online courses and more.
Since its launch in 2020, the Amegy Bank Small Business Boost Program, in partnership with the Houston Texans football franchise, has provided $85,000 in grant funding to 21 small businesses. The program continues in 2024, with grant awards of $5,000 plus access to event opportunities and promotional support on offer for eligible small businesses. To apply, your organization must be an independently owned, for-profit company, operating primarily in the Greater Houston Area and with annual total revenues of less than $20 Million.
Businesses that meet the minimum criteria may be eligible for incentives from the City of Dayton or the Dayton Community Development Corporation. Available incentives include:
Businesses that do not qualify for the incentives above may apply for funding via these other programs:
Dayton Downtown Improvement Program
This program supports new development, business expansion, and renovation of existing buildings/businesses in the Dayton Downtown area. Eligible grant activities include facade improvements and/or interior renovations, signage improvements, parking lot improvements, and landscaping projects. Grants are provided on a 50-50 matching basis up to a maximum of $25,000.
Dayton Small Business Grant Program
The grant has similar goals and qualifying criteria to the program shown above. Grant awards are provided on a 50-50 matching basis and cannot exceed $7,500 for exterior revitalization projects and $7,500 for interior projects.
A grant program that promotes the installation of murals in the Downtown area. Grants are provided for up to 100% of the cost of the mural, including materials and labor, up to $5,000 per mural.
This program aims to improve traffic flow and road safety along major roadways in Dayton. Grants are available for driveway improvements, driveway closures, driveway size reduction, and cross connection improvements, with funding dependent on project type.
MORE: Other financing options to renovate or expand your business property.
San Antonio EDD grants are provided to help city businesses with exterior improvements, noise mitigations, improved outdoor amenities, increased staffing and expanding into new markets. Awards of $2,000 to $50,000 are on offer, depending on the program you apply for. See the EDD website for full program details and qualifying criteria.
As the name suggests, the Alamo Small Business Grant Program aims to support small organizations located in the city of Alamo. Grants of up to $2,500 are available to help pay for improvements to commercial properties. Projects may include signage improvements, building repairs and renovations and equipment purchases. To qualify, your business must be based in Alamo and have been trading in the city for at least 24 consecutive months. Tenant applicants must also have a lease that is yearly and not month to month.
MORE: Discover other ways to get the equipment your business needs.
If you can’t find the type of grant you need locally, these national grant programs also provide support for Texas 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.
The WomensNet Amber Grants awards multiple grants per year to women wishing to start or grow their own business. $10,000 is 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.
Californians who work for themselves may be eligible for a National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE) business growth grant of up to $4,000. Since 2006, nearly $1 million has been awarded through the program, with grants used for marketing, advertising, hiring employees, expanding facilities and other specific business needs. Note that you must be a member of NASE to apply for a grant. (Membership fees may be applicable).
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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