New small business grants this week

This week's 5 picks

The new grants most small businesses can actually enter: open nationwide, a deadline far enough out to apply, and a reasonable amount of work.

• IFW Startup Accelerator Grant$5,000 (one winner) · Deadline November 30, 2026

  One $5,000 unrestricted grant, judged on three short written answers.

  We can draft this applicationSee details →
• Sephora Beauty Grant$100,000 · Deadline November 6, 2026

  Annual $100,000 unrestricted grant for underrepresented beauty or personal care founders in the US with at least $100K in annual revenue.

  We can draft this applicationSee details →
• Hiring Our Heroes Small Business Grant$10,000 (four winners) or $25,000 (grand prize) · Deadline December 15, 2026

  Four $10,000 grants and one $25,000 grand prize for small businesses owned by veterans, Guard/Reserve members or military spouses (3–20 people, under $5M).

  We can draft this applicationSee details →
• Seated Together Small Business MicrograntUp to $750 ($1,000 veteran-owned) · Rolling; reviewed in quarterly cycles

  Up to $750, or $1,000 for veteran-owned businesses, for US small businesses.

  We can draft this applicationSee details →
• Black Women Photographers x Nikon Grant Program$2,500 cash + Nikon Z6III kit · Fourth-quarter 2026 round open; deadline not posted

  $2,500 cash plus a Nikon Z6III lens kit each quarter for Black and African women photographers and creatives.

  See details →

All 27 new this week, by who it's for

Open to most small businesses (4)

• MIT Solve 2027 Global ChallengesAverage $40,000 per Solver team · Deadline November 6, 2026MIT Solve
• IFW Startup Accelerator Grant$5,000 (one winner) · Deadline November 30, 2026IFW by Honeycomb
• Emergent Ventures (Mercatus Center)Project specific (no range published) · Rolling; no deadline publishedMercatus Center at George Mason University
• Seated Together Small Business MicrograntUp to $750 ($1,000 veteran-owned) · Rolling; reviewed in quarterly cyclesSeated Together, LLC

For women-owned businesses (3)

• Black Women Photographers x Nikon Grant Program$2,500 cash + Nikon Z6III kit · Fourth-quarter 2026 round open; deadline not postedBlack Women Photographers
• Sephora Beauty Grant$100,000 · Deadline November 6, 2026Sephora / Fifteen Percent Pledge
• Tory Burch Foundation Fellows ProgramNo cash grant — fellowship (education, community, network) · Deadline November 17, 2026Tory Burch Foundation

For veteran-owned businesses (2)

• Hiring Our Heroes Small Business Grant$10,000 (four winners) or $25,000 (grand prize) · Deadline December 15, 2026U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation
• Rice Veterans Business Battle$30,000 in prizes (2026 cycle) · Applications open November 11, 2026; 2027 deadline not yet publishedRice Business

Local: one state or city (7)

• Flinn Foundation Bioscience Entrepreneurship Program$75,000 per company (up to six) · Deadline October 30, 2026Flinn Foundation
• Pitch Black (MAC Chamber / MAC Foundation, Omaha)Prizes of $1,000 to $10,000 (2026 package) · Deadline November 2, 2026MAC Chamber / MAC Foundation
• Digital Sandbox KCUp to $20,000 · Rolling; selections are made four times a yearTech Venture Studio
• Denver Business Impact Opportunity (BIO) FundUp to $15,000 · Deadline November 10, 2026Denver Economic Development & Opportunity
• Vermont Working Lands Enterprise Initiative Business Enhancement Grant$10,000–$50,000 · Deadline December 10, 2026Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets
• RISE PA — Small Award Track (SAT) for Small ManufacturersUp to $500,000 (50% cost-share) · Deadline December 15, 2026Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection
• One North Carolina Small Business Program (SBIR/STTR Incentive & Matching Funds)Up to $12K (Incentive) / up to $75K (Matching) · Deadline June 30, 2027North Carolina Department of Commerce — Office of Science, Technology

Tech and R&D companies (6)

• Dream Investment Program 2026-27 (Southern Black Girls and Women's Consortium)$1,000 to $5,000 (2024-25 amounts) on completion · Deadline October 22, 2026Southern Black Girls and Women's Consortium
• Michigan Veteran Entrepreneur Lab (GVSU)Cash prizes (amount not stated) · Applications open; no deadline stated (cohort starts January 11, 2027)Grand Valley State University, DeVos Center for Entrepreneurship & Inn
• Santander Cultivate Small Business$2,500 on completion; up to $20,000 for top graduates · Spring 2027 application not yet open (cohort runs April to June)Santander
• SBIR Phase I — Department of DefenseUp to $250K (Phase I) · Deadline October 21, 2026Department of Defense
• Activate Fellowship$100K R&D + stipend ($300K+ total) · Deadline October 30, 2026Activate
• DOE Advanced Nuclear Energy Licensing Cost-Share Grant ProgramVaries (cost-share structure) · Deadline November 30, 2026U.S. Department of Energy — Office of Nuclear Energy

Students and young founders (5)

• NFTE World Series of Innovation 2026-27Prizes of $300 to $1,500 · Deadline December 13, 2026Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship
• Diamond Challenge (Horn Entrepreneurship, University of Delaware)$100,000 prize pool ($4,500 to $12,000 grand prizes) · Deadline January 14, 2027Horn Entrepreneurship, University of Delaware
• VentureWell E-Team Program (Pioneer and Propel grants)$5,000 Pioneer + up to $20,000 Propel · Deadline January 25, 2027VentureWell
• EO Global Student Entrepreneur Awards (GSEA)$100,000 total; $50,000 first prize · Varies by city (e.g. a Nashville listing: December 5)Entrepreneurs' Organization
• Thiel Fellowship$250,000 over two years · Rolling; no deadline (applications accepted year round)The Thiel Foundation

Monthly grants you can apply to now (11)

These run a new round every month, so there is always one open. Check each funder's page for this month's cut-off.

• Amber Grant for WomenThree $15,000 grants monthly + three $75,000 year-end · Rolling — monthly, last day of each calendar monthWomensNet
• Coach K Legacy Grant$1,000 (monthly) · Deadline October 27, 2026Coach K LLC
• Freed Fellowship Grant$500/mo + $2,500 year-end · Rolling — submit by midnight ET on the last day of each month to be considered in that monFreed Studio
• HerRise MicroGrant$1,000 per month · Rolling monthly — applications due 11:59 PM on the last day of each monthHerSuiteSpot / Yva Jourdan Foundation
• Hey Helen Grant$10,000 (monthly) · Deadline October 31, 2026Visionaries
• Hustler's MicroGrant$1,000 (monthly) · Applications open monthly; no fixed deadlineHerSuiteSpot / Deja Vu Parker of WBLS / Yva Jourdan Foundation
• LISC Verizon Small Business Digital Ready Grant$10,000 · Apply once in 2026; monthly selections June–December 2026Local Initiatives Support Corporation
• NASE Growth GrantUp to $4,000 · Rolling — apply any time; applications are reviewed quarterly (April, July, October, JanuaNational Association for the Self-Employed
• The Awesome Foundation Micro-Grant$1,000 monthly · Rolling — monthly; most chapters review applications and award once per monthThe Awesome Foundation
• The Hustle Grant$1,000 (monthly) · Rolling monthly — next winner announced November 15, 2026The Hustle Grant
• YippityDoo Big Idea Grant$1,000 (monthly) · Rolling: applications are open and one $1,000 grant is awarded each month; applicants are YippityDoo

How this list is made

A grant appears here the week it enters the GrantCompass catalog or its status changes back to open. Both happen only after we read the program on the funder's own site. The list compares our catalog with its state seven days earlier, so nothing is copied from other grant lists. For everything open right now, use the full database or small business grants open now.

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