8 Top Grants for Black-Owned Businesses in 2026

If you are a Black business owner, there are several grants available that provide funding to help you start or grow your business.

According to the Federal Reserve’s 2026 Firms in Focus Chartbook on Race and Ethnicity, Black entrepreneurs were almost half as likely as white entrepreneurs to receive full approval for financing (32% versus 57%), making it more difficult for them to access the capital their businesses need. Grants for Black-owned businesses can help level that playing field.

Read on to learn more about a variety of grants for Black-owned businesses, including what each one offers, who qualifies, and how to apply.

How to apply for grants

Applying for small business grants is a rigorous process.

Grant applications require gathering financial documents (e.g., tax returns, bank statements, revenue records), polishing your business plan, and making sure you’ve read and followed each grant program’s eligibility requirements. 

The good news is, once you’ve assembled one grant application, it becomes easier to revise as needed whenever you apply for other grant opportunities. 

8 grants for Black-owned businesses

• Wish Local Empowerment Program
• HerRise MicroGrant
• Galaxy Grants
• Transform Business Grant
• Freed Fellowship Grant
• Sephora Beauty Grant
• BGV Pitch and Pull Up & Pitch Competitions
• NAACP Grants

Here is a list of eight grant funding opportunities for Black-owned businesses: 

Wish Local Empowerment Program

Shopping app Wish Local provides Wish Local Empowerment grants ranging from $500 to $2,000 for Black-owned brick-and-mortar small businesses. To qualify, you must have 20 employees or fewer, a physical storefront, and an average annual revenue less than $1 million. 

You can use the funds for expenses such as rent, payroll, inventory, and other operating costs. Recipients must become Wish Local vendors, allowing their stores to serve as pick-up locations for orders placed via Wish. 

To apply, complete the online application, which includes a simple questionnaire and photos of your business.

HerRise MicroGrant

Every month, the women-led professional development organization HerSuite distributes a $1,000 HerRise Microgrant to a company owned by a woman of color. To be eligible, you must submit your application by the last day of the month. 

If you’re a Black woman with a small business that earns less than $1 million in annual revenue each year, you may qualify for this microgrant. The application will request basic business details like your annual revenue and industry, then ask questions about what problems your business solves and how you plan to use the grant money, along with a $15 application fee.

Galaxy Grants

Offered through the nonprofit Hidden Star, Galaxy Grants awards funds that range from just under $1,000 to over $4,000 to eligible small business owners. According to the organization, women and minority entrepreneurs at all stages are encouraged to participate. 

To apply for the microgrant, Galaxy of Stars requires you to join its platform as a member. The application process is brief: Simply fill out basic information like contact details, ethnicity, and whether you are a current or future business owner. 

Transform Business Grant

The Transform Business Grant awards $1,000 grants to entrepreneurs from systemically marginalized communities who demonstrate financial need, including: Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC); individuals with disabilities; and LGBTQ+ business owners. The organization specifically rewards businesses and business ideas that create social impact and address social injustices. 

In addition to grant funds, awardees receive one year of mentorship and professional coaching support. Applicants can apply through Transform’s website, with application windows usually open twice a year.

Freed Fellowship Grant

The Freed Fellowship offers one $500 microgrant per month to small business owners and specifically encourages business owners from minority, female, and other marginalized groups to apply. Applicants are judged against Freed’s framework for healthy businesses, such as market conditions and the ability to create community.

All applicants receive a review of their application as well as two months of free membership with the online community Freed Studio. Winners receive a full year’s membership, a business strategy session with Freed’s team, and the opportunity to win Freed’s annual $2,500 grant. Applications are available through the Freed Fellowship website. 

Sephora Beauty Grant

Beauty businesses owned by underrepresented founders may apply for a $100,000 grant sponsored by Sephora and the Fifteen Percent Pledge. 

To be eligible, businesses must have operated for at least a year, have $100,000 in sales, and be at least 51% owned by one or more individuals who identify as people of color, immigrants, women, LGBTQ+, or other groups historically underserved by venture capital. The grant is offered annually, and there’s typically a four-week application window.

BGV Pitch and Pull Up & Pitch Competitions

Black Girl Ventures—now operating as the BGV Foundation—hosts the annual BGV Pitch program, which awards up to $15,000 and combines a pitch competition with audience voting. Participants receive coaching before delivering a three-minute live pitch.

The Pull Up & Pitch program offers a lower-barrier entry point, allowing applicants to deliver a 60-second proposal without preparing a formal pitch deck. Winners can receive up to $500 and a chance to compete in a more advanced round.

Applicants must be Black women with businesses valued at less than $1 million. In addition to cash prizes, winners receive networking opportunities. Application deadlines vary by city.

NAACP Grants

Rather than offering a single recurring grant, the NAACP partners with corporations and nonprofit organizations to provide multiple funding opportunities for Black entrepreneurs. Grant amounts, eligibility, and industries vary by program.

Opportunities have included the Backing the BAR grant for Black-owned hospitality businesses and restaurants, along with the Power Forward Small Business Grant supporting entrepreneurs in different geographic regions. The NAACP grants webpage lists funding opportunities, eligibility requirements, and application deadlines.

5 types of small business grants

• Unrestricted grant
• Grants for specific use
• Grants with business development support
• Pitching competitions
• Service grants

Grants can take many forms. Beyond direct funding, some grants offer business development assistance such as mentorship and training. 

Get to know some of the most common types of small business grants below.

Unrestricted grants

Businesses that earn unrestricted grants can use their funding any way they wish—no strings attached. For example, a company might opt to use their prize money to hire new employees, while another might allocate it to developing a new product.

Grants for specific use

Businesses must invest specific-use grants into an aspect of their business determined by the grant-giving body. For example, a company might win $15,000 with the expectation that they’ll use that money to reduce their carbon footprint or complete a social impact project within an agreed-upon timeframe.

Grants with business development support

Some foundations and agencies distribute grants alongside opportunities for networking or mentorship. For example, you might win a place in a small business cohort or earn a spot in a series of business development programs. 

Sugardoh founder Aliyah Marandiz—who launched her hair-removal business with help from the Target Accelerators program, and won a pitch competition for women of color at the Essence Festival of Culture—recommends taking full advantage of those opportunities. 

Aliyah introduced herself to speakers, followed up with program managers, and built relationships that helped her grow her business. 

“I was going to squeeze as much juice as I can from those programs and those opportunities,” she says on Shopify Masters.

Pitching competitions

In pitching competitions, organizations award prize money to entrepreneurs who present savvy business pitches to public or private audiences. These grants might be in the form of cash, capital investment, or both.

Service grants

Grants can take the form of free services received, such as $5,000 worth of marketing assistance, technology expansion, or legal services. For example, a for-profit technology company might provide their services for free to grant winners.

Other funding opportunities for Black businesses

• Venture capital
• Government funding
• Shopify Capital

In addition to applying for small business grants, Black business owners can find funding opportunities in the form of startup business loans and investments from a variety of sources. 

Loans are not the same as grants. With loans, you agree to a repayment schedule that typically includes interest. Meanwhile, grants are considered a gift you’re not required to repay. 

Here are some alternative funding methods to consider: 

Venture capital

Lanny Smith, founder of the athleisure brand Actively Black and former NBA guard, chose to seek venture capital (VC) funding to launch his company. He relied primarily on funding from VC groups working to support Black-owned businesses. 

“Black founders receive less than 0.3% of all venture capital funding. [Firms like New Voices Fund] are trying to correct for that,” Lanny says on an episode of Shopify Masters. “And so I was blessed to be one of those who they invested in. They saw the vision and what I was building.”

Here are other VC firms that support Black-owned businesses:

• Jumpstart Nova invests in Black-owned healthcare startups. 

• Impact America Fund and Collab Capital invest in various Black-founded startups. 

• Fearless Fund invests in startups founded by women of color. 

Government funding

Black business owners can utilize resources from federal government agencies like the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) and the Small Business Administration (SBA). 

The MBDA can provide you with financial assistance and coaching to start and grow your business, and the SBA offers multiple types of small business loans, including long-term loans and microloans. 

The SBA’s Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer arm offers a seed fund that can help you turn innovative scientific ideas into commercial enterprises. 

You can also check if your city or state provides resources for minority business owners.

Shopify Capital 

Since 2016, Shopify Capital has provided funding to thousands of ecommerce businesses on the platform. Businesses across a wide range of industries have used Shopify Capital, including food and beverage brands, pet retailers, and apparel companies. 

One of Shopify Capital’s differentiators is that repayments are tied to sales rather than fixed monthly payments.

Black-owned natural-hair-care company FreeTheRoots used a combination of Shopify Capital, Shopify Credit, and Shopify Balance to free up cash flow. With better cash flow, the business was able to benefit from bulk order discounts and ultimately improve profit margins by 3%. 

“Between the access to cash, capital loans, and credit, Shopify has empowered us to grow to who we are today,” Cofounder Joshua Thompson says in a case study.