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Grants for Minority-Owned Small Businesses: What's Really Open
As of October 2026, 1 national grant for minority-owned small businesses is open in WinAGrant's registry: Galaxy Grant ($2,500, closes October 31, 2026). That number is small because it counts only programs still live in the registry, not closed cycles, not loans, and not certifications. It also isn’t one list with one rule: each funder writes its own eligibility, and no two are written the same way, so read the “who it’s for” column before you spend an evening applying, and the funder’s page for the application window it is currently in.
Key takeaways
- 1 national grant for minority-owned businesses is open now, each with its closing date or rolling status listed. Check each funder's page for its current application window. Our minority-owned grants page also counts statewide programs, so its open count can run higher. Longer lists reach their number by counting closed cycles, loans, or certifications.
- The soonest deadline is the Galaxy Grant on Oct 31, 2026. Check its page for when the application window opens.
- An MBE certification and the SBA's 8(a) program are contracting programs, not grants. They help you win work, they don't send a check.
- 6 of the 315 programs we've verified are tagged for minority-owned businesses. The minority-owned grants page also counts programs we're still checking.
- Grants are not loans. The money is never paid back.
Minority-owned business grants open right now
Every program here is active in WinAGrant's registry, verified against the funder's own page on the date shown, and is open now, with a closing date shown where there is one and rolling marked where there is not. One caveat we can't check for you: some funders accept applications only during set windows that open and close during the year, so the funder's page, linked on every row, is the authority on whether it is taking applications the day you read this. Read the “who it's for” column first, too: these funders do not all define “minority-owned” the same way, and the difference decides whether an evening spent applying was worth it.
| Program | Amount | Status | Who it's for | Official link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Galaxy Grant Hidden Star (Galaxy of Stars) Verified Oct 19, 2026 | $2,500 | Closes Oct 31, 2026 | Women and minority business owners, at any stage: a 30-second application, winners drawn each cycle |
Worth getting ready for
These programs are between application windows right now. The date is the funder's own signal for the next cycle, and the owners who win are the ones whose applications are ready the week a window opens, not the ones who find out it existed the week it closed.
Minority-owned business grants, program by program
Galaxy Grant: $2,500, closes Oct 31, 2026
Run by Hidden Star (Galaxy of Stars). Women and minority business owners, at any stage: a 30-second application, winners drawn each cycle. Verified against the funder's own page Oct 19, 2026. Official page
TRANSFORM Business Grant: $1,000, usually opens around Spring 2027, based on past rounds
Social-impact founders from systemically marginalized groups: BIPOC, disabled, formerly incarcerated, and queer, trans and nonbinary founders prioritized. Verified against the funder's own page Oct 12, 2026. Official page
Open to any owner, you included
Nothing in this table has an ownership requirement of any kind. These are private national programs open to any industry and any owner, which means a minority-owned business competes for them on equal footing, today. Most lists never show them, because a list of “minority business grants” isn't supposed to include grants everyone can apply for, but your business can win these, and that is the point.
| Program | Amount | Status | Who it's for | Official link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Shophand $5K Small Business Boost Grant Shophand, Inc. Verified Oct 17, 2026 | $2,500 cash plus $2,500 in Shophand services | Closes Nov 30, 2026 | Shophand awards its Small Business Boost twice… | |
Small Business Digital Ready $10,000 Grant Verizon (with LISC) Verified Oct 3, 2026 | $10,000 | Closes Dec 7, 2026 | Verizon awards $10,000 grants to small business… | |
Freed Fellowship Grant Freed Fellowship Funder's application fee: $19 Verified Oct 10, 2026 | $500 monthly (+ $2,500 year-end) | Rolling: apply anytime | Monthly $500 no-strings micro-grant for any US… | |
NASE Growth Grant National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE) Verified Oct 17, 2026 | up to $4,000 | Rolling: apply anytime | NASE members (self-employed people and micro-businesses): marketing, hiring, equipment, or expansion |
Certifications are not grants
Search “minority business grants” and much of what comes back isn't grant money. MBE certification through a regional council, and the SBA's 8(a) Business Development program, are both real and can both be worth pursuing, but they help you compete for contracts, which is work you get paid to do, not money awarded for being who you are. Lists that blur the two make the grant landscape look several times larger than it is.
The SBA's 8(a) program runs up to nine years and helps disadvantaged owners compete for federal contracts. It is under active review: the SBA ordered a full audit in 2025, suspended over 1,000 firms in January 2026, and in June 2026 proposed a rule that would require owners to prove social disadvantage with evidence. That rule is proposed, not final. NMSDC certification opens doors to corporate supplier programs, and NMSDC itself says it “does not guarantee contracts.” The Minority Business Development Agency was cut back to its legal minimum by a March 2025 executive order, so confirm a local MBDA center is still open before relying on it.
The same goes for the loan funds that appear on those lists in grant language. If it has to be paid back, it's a loan, and the honest thing is to say so before you spend a weekend on the application.
Help that isn't a grant: SCORE and SBDCs
Two SBA resource partners are worth knowing about while you wait for a window to open. SCORE is a nonprofit network of volunteer mentors who advise on planning, launching and growing a business, and the SBA says the advice comes at no cost. Small Business Development Centers, listed on the same page, offer counseling and training on starting, running and growing a business, including help with capital access. Neither one sends you a check. For the programs that do, see our grants for minority-owned businesses list.
Why the honest list is short
Right now 6 of the 315 programs we've verified are tagged for minority-owned businesses (median published maximum award $10,000 among the 6 that state one), and one of them clears every check this page requires: national scope, verified against the funder's own page, and open now. The others are held back for a reason: scoped to a single state, between cycles, or not re-verified on the last pass, and they return here when they clear again. We check funder pages for changes daily. When a page changes, we verify the grant again. That keeps this table honest: when a deadline passes or a program closes, the row drops off automatically rather than sitting here collecting weekends.
Where else to look
Several funders that fund minority-owned businesses fund women-owned and veteran-owned businesses as well, so the women-owned list and the veteran-owned list are both worth reading next; each is built from the same registry and the same checks. State programs are their own lane: we track them on dedicated pages for Virginia, New Mexico, and Rhode Island, with more coming. And before you size up any application, it helps to know what these awards are actually worth: real medians from verified published maximums.
And once you're ready to apply, it helps to know what a grant writer costs and which AI grant-writing tools actually earn their keep before you commit.
If your business is also veteran-owned or women-owned, those pages pull from the same registry with the same checks. Nonprofits have their own list: grants for nonprofits.
Every verified grant deadline in the next 90 days is on one page: the live deadlines list.
Straight answers
Is an MBE certification or SBA 8(a) a grant?
No. Minority Business Enterprise certification and the SBA's 8(a) Business Development program are contracting programs. They help you compete for government and corporate contracts, which is work you get paid to do. Neither one sends you a check the way a grant does. Both can be worth having; neither belongs on a list of grants.
What counts as a minority-owned business?
Each funder decides, and they don't all decide the same way. Some ask for a percentage of ownership, some ask you to self-identify, and some name the exact groups they fund, and a few are narrower than the phrase “minority-owned” suggests, funding one specific group rather than all of them. That is why this page has a “who it's for” column instead of a single definition: it summarises what each funder itself says, and every row links straight to its full eligibility rules. Read them before you spend an evening applying.
Do these grants have to be paid back?
No. A grant is not a loan. You never pay it back. Most small-business awards just ask for a short report on how the money was used. Larger federal grants can carry more formal reporting and compliance terms, so read the award conditions before you accept. Anything that has to be repaid is a loan, whatever the headline calls it.
Why is this list shorter than the ones I've seen elsewhere?
Because this one only counts programs still live in the registry, verified against the funder's own page. Longer lists get there by including cycles that closed last year, loan funds described in grant language, and certifications that never send a check. A weekend spent applying to a closed program is a weekend you don't get back.
Can I apply if I'm a minority business owner but not a woman?
Sometimes. Funders write their own rules: some accept either women or minority owners, some are limited to women of color, and some name the exact groups they fund. The “who it's for” line on each row says what the funder itself states, and the funder's page has the full eligibility rules. Programs with no ownership rule at all are listed under “Open to any owner”.
Are there grants just for Black-owned, Hispanic-owned, Native-owned or Asian-owned businesses?
This page lists only programs we have verified against the funder's own page. The “who it's for” line on each row shows which group the funder names, so read it row by row; if a program for your group is not there, it is not in our verified registry yet. Programs with no ownership rule are listed under “Open to any owner”, and a business owned by anyone can apply to them. The quiz checks your ownership, industry and state against the whole registry.
Do I need an MBE certification or 8(a) status to apply for a grant?
Usually not for private grants. Each funder sets its own proof of ownership, stated on its official page. MBE certification and the SBA's 8(a) program matter for contracting, which is a different kind of program.
What are the odds of actually winning one?
Most funders don't publish a win rate. What you can check is on the funder's official page, linked on every row: the application format, any fee, and the number of awards if the funder states it.
Where can I get help with a grant application?
SCORE, a nonprofit network of volunteer mentors, advises small business owners at no cost, per the SBA. The SBA's Small Business Development Centers offer counseling and training for starting, running and growing a business. Both are listed on the SBA's resource partners page. The SBA's page doesn't list a cost for SBDCs, so ask when you call. Neither one is a grant.
How do I find grants that match my specific business?
This page lists national programs. WinAGrant's 3-minute quiz matches your industry, state, and ownership against the full verified registry plus live federal grants from Grants.gov, and shows you where you stand.
Related reading
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