Secretsos Small Business Grant Review — 2026
Is the Secretsos Small Business Grant legit, and worth $15? Yes, if you fit one of its charitable classes and have a clear plan for $2,500. It is a real, judged grant from Secretsos LLC, with published rules and scoring. Its public record is thin: we found one named winner, in 2024.
Applying? How to answer the four questions, with examples → or start your free draft preview
Checked as of November 2026 against the Secretsos grants page, its official grant rules, the live application form and fee page, its terms of service and privacy policy, both press releases Secretsos has issued about the grant, and Internet Archive copies of the rules and grants page. GrantCompass is independent and not affiliated with Secretsos.
Who runs the Secretsos Small Business Grant, and what it gives
The Secretsos Small Business Grant is run by Secretsos LLC, a New Mexico company with a mailing address in Eureka, Missouri, that sells training and coaching to franchise and small business owners. Its founder is April Porter. The grant pays one $2,500 cash award a quarter, and the winner decides how to spend it.
Secretsos calls itself “The Franchisee Intelligence Agency.” Its core product is the Secretsos Academy, a coaching and training membership listed at $500 a month with a one-year commitment, and it runs an annual conference for franchise owners. The grant program sits on the same site, alongside these paid offers.
- Runs itSecretsos LLC, named in the official rules as the sponsor. Its about page describes April Porter as a business strategist, attorney and former multi-unit franchisee. A “Secretsos Small Business Grant Program Committee” picks the winner.
- Pays for itApplication fees and sponsors. The FAQ says the $15 fee “makes the grant and operation of the site possible,” and the grants page credits sponsors it calls Distinguished Allies. The rules call the Secretsos Foundation “a fiscal sponsorship program under University Impact Foundation, a public 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable organization.”
- Gives$2,500 in cash, one award a quarter. The grants page says the recipient “has full discretion in how they apply the funds.” The 2024 winner also got a year-long scholarship to Secretsos’s training program.
Apply-Ready
Entering other grants this month? We draft these too.
For these sixteen grants, answer a few short questions once and we draft your application from what you tell us: only your facts, with a blank wherever the judges want a detail only you know. You submit it yourself. Six are for women-owned businesses; ten are open more widely.
You see a free preview first and pay only if you want the full draft: $9 per grant. You can add the other month-end grants you qualify for at $5 each (never more than $15 extra).
For women-owned businesses
- Hey Helen Grant$10,000 monthlyWomen-owned · US · under $1M revenueCloses the last day of every month, 11:59pm ETDraft my applicationit →
- Amber Grant$15,000 monthlyWomen-owned (50%+)Closes the last day of every monthDraft my applicationit →
- HerRise MicroGrant$1,000 monthly51%+ women-owned · US · under $1M revenueCloses the last day of every monthDraft my applicationit →
- Big Idea Grant (YippityDoo)$1,000 monthlyWomen-owned and run · ideas welcomeCloses the last day of every month, 11:59pm PTDraft my applicationit →
- The Hustle Grant$1,000 monthlyWomen-owned · USMonthly; winner named on the 15thDraft my applicationit →
- Tory Burch Foundation Fellows$2,000 + a year's fellowshipWomen-owned · $75K+ revenue · no entry feeFinal deadline November 17, 2026Draft my applicationit →
Open more widely
- Business Freedom Grant$1,000Idea stage welcome · no entry feeReview rounds until the final deadline, December 31, 2026Draft my applicationit →
- IFW Startup Accelerator Grant$5,000Any US owner (50%+) · idea stage welcome · $5 entry feeFinal deadline November 30, 2026Draft my applicationit →
- Seated Together Microgrant$750 ($1,000 veteran-owned)Any US for-profit · startups welcome · $5 entry feeRolling; reviewed each quarterDraft my applicationit →
- Hustler's MicroGrant$1,000 monthlyAny US small-business owner · $15 entry feeMonthly; no published closing dateDraft my applicationit →
- Freed Fellowship$500 monthlyAny US for-profit businessCloses the last day of every monthDraft my applicationit →
- Hiring Our Heroes Small Business Grant$10,000–$25,000Veteran or military-spouse owned · 3–20 people · no entry feeFinal deadline December 15, 2026Draft my applicationit →
- Sephora Beauty Grant$100,000Beauty brands · $100K+ revenue · 51%+ underrepresented-owned · no entry feeFinal deadline November 6, 2026Draft my applicationit →
- Awesome Foundation Micro-Grant$1,000 monthlyAnyone with a community project · no entry feeRolling; most chapters choose monthlyDraft my applicationit →
- Outta Excuses Grant$3,000 quarterlyRegistered LLC · under $500K revenue · $15 entry feeFinal deadline December 31, 2026Draft my applicationit →
- Thiel Fellowship$250,000 over 2 yearsAge 22 or under · no university degree · no entry feeRolling; open all yearDraft my applicationit →
Is the Secretsos Small Business Grant legit? What can be checked
The Secretsos Small Business Grant passes the basic checks: a named company, a named founder, full official rules with a mailing address, a fee charged up front rather than after a “win,” and a press release naming a 2024 winner. What can’t be checked is how many grants it has paid since then, because Secretsos has published no later winners we could find.
The classic grant scam tells you that you won, then asks for money to release it. Secretsos works the other way. You pay $15 when you apply, the same fee several well-known microgrants charge, including the Amber Grant and the HerRise MicroGrant. The rules name no fee after you win. One FAQ entry asks directly whether there are additional fees for winners, and its answer explains the application fee without saying yes or no, so that point rests on the rules.
- Checks outA real, named operator. The rules name Secretsos LLC, its state of organization and a mailing address. The founder speaks under her own name in both press releases.
- Checks outPublished scoring. The rules weight use of funds at 45%, your qualities at 40% and your business at 15%.
- Checks outA likely match for the named nonprofit. A Provo, Utah 501(c)(3) named University Impact is in ProPublica’s records. We could not confirm it is the “University Impact Foundation” the rules name, or the arrangement with Secretsos.
- ThinOne public winner. The only winner announcement we found is from October 2024. The 2025 specialty grants were announced, but we found no recipients published.
- UnknownHow many apply. Secretsos publishes no applicant counts, and it does not give feedback to applicants who don’t win.
You can ask for the record yourself. The rules say a copy of the list of winners is available by mail: send “a hand-printed, self-addressed, stamped envelope” to the sponsor’s address in the rules, within 30 days after the quarter ends.
Who wins the Secretsos Small Business Grant: the public record
One Secretsos Small Business Grant winner is on the public record: Lit2Animate, an animation studio owned by Zachary Cooper, which won the third-quarter 2024 grant. The same announcement named 13 finalists, each given a year-long scholarship to the Secretsos training program. We found no named winners for the quarters since.
Quarters since the one documented winner (Q3 2024)
- Q3 2024: winner named
- Q4 2024: no public winner found
- Q1 2025: no public winner found
- Q2 2025: no public winner found
- Q3 2025: no public winner found
- Q4 2025: no public winner found
- Q1 2026: no public winner found
- Q2 2026: no public winner found
- Q3 2026: too recent to judge
Winner named in a press releaseNo public winner foundToo recent to judge
Searched: Secretsos press releases on Newsfile, the web, and the grants page with its Internet Archive copies, 2025 to 2026. Not searched: Facebook and Instagram.
| Period | Grants on offer, per Secretsos | Winner named publicly | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q3 2024 | The general $2,500 grant | Lit2Animate, owner Zachary CooperPlus 13 named finalists | Press release, announced October 17, 2024 |
| Q4 2024 | Not documented by Secretsos | None found | No release |
| 2025, all four quarters | The general grant, plus two new $2,500 quarterly grants: one for Native American business owners with tribal membership, one for Utah HVAC owners and apprentices | None found | Press release, announced January 15, 2025 |
| Q1–Q2 2026 | Not documented by Secretsos | None found | The February 2026 grants page still showed the 2025 grants |
| Q3 2026 | One $2,500 grant | Too recent to judge | Grants page, July 2026 copy |
What the one winner looks like. Lit2Animate makes animation for fantasy authors with a US-based team. The release calls it a Pennsylvania-based company; Zachary Cooper accepted the award from Houston, Texas. Secretsos said he planned to use the money to expand production and reach a bigger audience, and April Porter tied the award to supporting “solopreneur artists.” The winner was a creative studio, not a storefront or a trade business.
The finalists were a broad mix. Going by their business names, the 13 finalists ranged from a handyman service, a farm and a kitchen to a youth sports network and a property company. Each finalist was offered a year-long scholarship to what the release calls the Secretsos Business Intelligence Agency, its paid training program. That is a real benefit, and it is also the company’s own paid product.
What we could not see. Secretsos says it may announce winners by email, on social media or on its website. Its grants page lists no past winners, and Facebook and Instagram posts are not reliably searchable, so a winner announced only there would not show up in our check.
How the Secretsos Small Business Grant has changed since 2024
The Secretsos Small Business Grant has run on calendar quarters since at least the third quarter of 2024, at $2,500 per award. In 2025 Secretsos added two sponsored specialty grants of $2,500 a quarter. The current rules offer one grant per quarter, and the form’s only specialty question now asks whether you are a franchisee.
| Year | General grant | Specialty grants | Most awarded in the year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $2,500Only the third quarter is documented | None announced | Not published |
| 2025 | $2,500 a quarterThe release calls the specialty grants new, alongside it | Two, each $2,500 a quarter | Up to 12 grants, $30,000 |
| 2026 | $2,500 a quarter | None in the rules | 4 grants, $10,000, if every quarter runs as the current rules say |
Most grant money on offer, by year
- 2025, as announced$30,000
- Under the current rules$10,000
The 2025 figure assumes every announced grant was awarded in every quarter; Secretsos published no 2025 recipients. 2024 is left out because only one quarter is documented.
The 2025 specialty grants. Secretsos announced on January 15, 2025 that it would run a $2,500 quarterly grant for Native American business owners with tribal membership, with the Bayhorse Foundation Trust, and a second for Utah HVAC business owners and apprentices honoring the late contractor Alvin Dean Harding, both for every quarter of 2025. Neither appears in the current rules.
The fee policy hardened. The rules now carry a section stating that Secretsos offers no fee waivers “of any kind,” no hardship exemptions and no waiver codes, and that the fee “does not constitute enrollment in any subscription.” From September 2025 to February 2026, the grants page said “the application fee is waived for subscribers of the monthly Top Secret Funding Blueprint”; that line was gone by July 2026. Secretsos’s Academy page still lists “Earn Application Fee Waivers for Business Grants” as a member perk. The rules are what you agree to when you apply, so plan on paying the $15.
What the Internet Archive copies show
- June and September 2025, rules. “Only three (3) Grants” were on offer, the general grant plus the Native American and Utah HVAC grants, under “only one (1) application fee of $15.00 USD for all Q1 2025 Grants.” There was no no‑waiver section.
- September 2025 to February 2026, grants page. The two specialty grants were listed, along with the line waiving the fee for Funding Blueprint subscribers.
- July 2026, grants page. The specialty grants and the waiver line were gone, and the page offered one grant a quarter.
- August 2026, rules. “Only one Grant” a quarter, and still no no‑waiver section. That section is in the rules as of November 2026. The FAQ’s no‑waiver answer is not in the October 26, 2026 copy of the grants page, so it is newer still.
The odds math, from what Secretsos publishes
Your odds on the Secretsos Small Business Grant can’t be calculated, because Secretsos publishes no applicant counts and no acceptance rate. It does publish one $2,500 award a quarter, a $15 fee, and a rule that lets it extend a quarter if fewer than 100 applications arrive.
- Awards a quarter
- 1
- Award
- $2,500
- Fee, each quarter
- $15
- Fees to apply all four quarters
- $60
- Most a year can pay out (current rules)
- $10,000
- Applicants per quarter
- Not published
Award, fee and award count are from the official rules and grants page. The totals are simple arithmetic on those figures. Secretsos publishes no acceptance rate.
The rules say it plainly: “The chances of winning any Grant is based on the number of Official Entries received for each Grant.” The 100-application line is a trigger for extending a quarter, not a count of applicants. If it is ever used, your fee stays paid, because the rules say it is non-refundable “even if Sponsor modifies or extends the Term.”
This is a judged award, not a draw. Use of funds counts for almost half the score, so a specific, priced plan for the $2,500 is where your own effort moves the result most.
The Secretsos Small Business Grant fine print, in its own terms
The Secretsos Small Business Grant rules require an eligible “charitable class” that the FAQ leaves out, keep your $15 in every case, let Secretsos publish your name and application, and send disputes to binding arbitration. Winners have three days to return signed forms, a photo ID and a W-9.
Who can apply: read the rules, not just the FAQ
The FAQ says you are eligible if you are 21 or older and have an active business registered in a US state or territory. The rules add one more test: the business must fit one “charitable class”: financially distressed (“denied a bank loan or don’t qualify for bank loan”), woman-, veteran- or minority-owned, or located in an economic development zone. Residents of DC and Puerto Rico are included. Staff of Secretsos and their families can’t enter.
The fee, and one entry per quarter
The $15.00 fee is “non-refundable under any circumstances,” with no waivers, hardship exemptions or sponsored routes. You get one application per person per quarter; entering more than once “will void all entries.” Applications don’t carry over, so each quarter means a new form and a new fee.
You pay on a separate page after the form, and the form warns that using a different email there can get the application “automatically denied.”
Your application can be published
By applying you authorize Secretsos “to announce your name and reproduce the contents of your Official Application.” The winner also grants the right to use their name, picture, voice and biographical details, including hometown and state, “for advertising, trade, and promotional purposes” without extra payment. The form adds that Secretsos may review your website and social media as part of judging.
What the winner must send, fast
Within three days of notification, the winner must sign an affidavit of eligibility, a liability waiver and a publicity release, and provide a photo ID, a W-9 with a Social Security or similar number, and proof of business registration. Miss the deadline and the grant can be forfeited and given to the next-highest score. Taxes on the grant are the winner’s to pay.
Disputes and your data
The rules say all disputes “will be resolved by binding arbitration” and that applicants waive class actions. The terms of service set New Mexico law and arbitration through the American Arbitration Association. The privacy policy lets Secretsos use your details “for marketing and advertising purposes,” with an unsubscribe link in each email. Text messages need your separate opt-in, and the policy says it does not sell your phone number. The application form we read had no marketing checkbox of its own.
Apply or skip: the verdict on the Secretsos Small Business Grant
Apply to the Secretsos Small Business Grant if you clearly fit one of its charitable classes, $15 a quarter is easy to absorb, and you don’t mind your application being quoted. It is a real, judged award with published scoring. Skip it if you need a program with a long public list of winners before you pay to enter.
Apply if
- You are 21 or older with a registered business and fit a charitable class: turned down for a bank loan (or unable to qualify), woman-, veteran- or minority-owned, or in an economic development zone.
- You have a clear, priced plan for $2,500. Use of funds carries 45% of the score, so that plan is what you compete on.
- You only want the grant. The rules say the fee is not enrollment in “any subscription, recurring service, or paid membership.”
Skip it if
- Your business doesn’t fit a charitable class. The FAQ’s shorter list leaves out the charitable-class test.
- You would apply every quarter with no cap in mind. Four tries cost $60, with no feedback in between.
- You want a public record of past winners before you pay. Only one is on the record.
How much time to give it: two to three hours, by our estimate. Write the four answers in a document first, then paste them in. The essay boxes come after 18 short questions.
The application
Applying? How to answer each question
The program page goes through all four essay questions in the form’s order: what each one asks, which part of the published score it feeds, and a made-up example answer from one woman-owned cleaning company, with word counts.
See the four questions, with examples → Start your free draft preview
Grants worth pairing with the Secretsos Small Business Grant
The Secretsos Small Business Grant gives one award a quarter, so pair it with programs on other calendars. Hustler’s Microgrant pays $1,000 a month, Seated Together reviews applications every quarter for a $5 fee, and the NASE Growth Grant serves members. If a bank has turned you down, an SBA microloan is a different route to small-business money.
- Hustler’s Microgrant — $1,000 a month from HerSuiteSpot for US small business owners, with a $15 fee. It asks for a clear plan for how the grant will move the business forward.
- Seated Together Small Business Microgrant — up to $750, or $1,000 for veteran-owned businesses, with rolling applications reviewed each quarter and a $5 fee. Startups and home-based businesses can apply.
- NASE Growth Grant — quarterly-reviewed grants of up to $4,000 for members of the National Association for the Self-Employed. Membership is required first.
- HerRise MicroGrant — $1,000 a month for businesses at least 51% women-owned with under $1 million in revenue, with a $15 fee. Under-resourced women, including women of color, get priority.
- SBA Microloan Program — a loan, not a grant: up to $50,000 through nonprofit lenders, most of which set no minimum time in business.
For more, see microgrants open now.
SecretSoS Grant compared with 9 other microgrants women founders apply to
Business Freedom Grant, Coach K Legacy Grant and IFundWomen grants cost $0 to enter. Amber Grant, HerRise MicroGrant, Hey Helen Grant, SecretSoS Grant, The Hustle Grant and YippityDoo Big Idea Grant each charge $15 and Freed Fellowship charges $19 per entry. Amber Grant pays the largest monthly award, $15,000; Coach K Legacy Grant is the only monthly award in this table with no entry fee.
| Program | Award | Entry fee | Cadence | Next close | Who it is for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coach K Legacy Grant · review | $1,000 | $0 | Monthly | Aspiring and existing business owners | |
| Amber Grant · review | $15,000 (3 a month) + $75,000 year-end | $15 | Monthly | Women-owned businesses, US and Canada | |
| Freed Fellowship · review | $500 + $2,500 year-end | $19 | Monthly | Any US small business; women encouraged | |
| HerRise MicroGrant · review | $1,000 | $15 | Monthly | Women-owned, under $1M revenue | |
| Hey Helen Grant | $10,000 | $15 | Monthly | Women-owned, under $1M revenue | |
| YippityDoo Big Idea Grant | $1,000 | $15 | Monthly | Women-owned, idea stage welcome | |
| Business Freedom Grant | $1,000 | $0 | Review rounds | Any founder, any stage | |
| SecretSoS Grant (this review) | $2,500 | $15 | Quarterly | Women/veteran/minority-owned or loan-denied, 21+ | |
| IFundWomen grants · review | $10,000–$25,000 (by sponsor) | $0 | Rolling | Rolling, by sponsor | Women-owned for-profit businesses |
| The Hustle Grant | $1,000 | $15 | Monthly | Monthly; cutoff by newsletter | Women-owned businesses and ideas |
Table updated November 6, 2026 from the GrantCompass catalog. Entry fees are verified against each funder’s published rules; confirm the date on the funder’s own page before you apply.
The questions people type about the Secretsos Small Business Grant
Is the Secretsos Small Business Grant legit?
It is a real program run by Secretsos LLC, a coaching company for franchise and small business owners, with published official rules, a mailing address and a named founder. It charges $15 up front, and its rules name no fee after a win. Its public track record is thin. One winner, from 2024, was named in a press release.
Who won the Secretsos Small Business Grant?
The only publicly named winner we found is Lit2Animate, a fantasy-animation studio owned by Zachary Cooper, which won the third-quarter 2024 grant of $2,500 plus a year of Secretsos’s training program. Thirteen finalists were also named. We found no named winners for later quarters.
Is the $15 Secretsos application fee refundable, or can it be waived?
Neither. The rules call the fee “non-refundable under any circumstances” and say Secretsos does not offer fee waivers, hardship exemptions or waiver codes. Each quarter’s application needs its own fee. Secretsos’s Academy page still lists fee waivers as a member perk; if that matters to you, ask Secretsos in writing first.
Who is eligible for the Secretsos grant?
A US resident (including DC and Puerto Rico) over 21 who owns part of a registered business and fits one charitable class: denied a bank loan or unable to qualify for one, woman-, veteran- or minority-owned, or located in an economic development zone.
When are Secretsos grant winners announced?
Each quarter closes on its last day at 11:59 pm Central Time. The rules say the winner is notified about 30 days after the quarter ends, and the grants page says winners are announced on the last day of the following month. The current deadline is on the program page.
Do I need to join the Secretsos Academy to win?
No. The published scoring covers your business, your qualities and your use of funds, and says nothing about membership. One essay asks about Academy milestones; if you have none, focus on your other achievements.
How this review was made
Sources, read as of November 2026. The Secretsos grants page and FAQ, the official grant rules, the application form and fee page linked from the grants page, the terms of service, the privacy policy, and its about and Academy pages. Winners and the 2025 specialty grants come from Secretsos’s two press releases on Newsfile, from October 17, 2024 and January 15, 2025. The nonprofit check used ProPublica’s Nonprofit Explorer.
Limits. We searched the web and Secretsos’s Newsfile page, which lists only those two releases, for later winners. We could not search Facebook or Instagram. For the history we read Internet Archive copies of the rules (June 2025, September 2025 and August 2026) and nine of the grants page’s 14 copies, June 2025 to October 2026.
Our own work. The quarter-by-quarter record, the supply totals and the fee arithmetic are GrantCompass’s, from the sources above. The time estimate is ours. GrantCompass did not apply and is not affiliated with Secretsos, Secretsos LLC or University Impact.