If you have or start a small business, financing is one of your top concerns. No business can succeed with inadequate capital investment. That’s doubly true if you’re just getting started or if you’re looking to expand.
Where will your capital infusion come from? You can pour your own resources into the business, but, for most entrepreneurs, this won’t be enough. You can borrow from a financial institution, but that will require ongoing payments with interest. You may be able to attract venture capital, but that comes with strings attached: you’ll no longer fully own your business, and somebody else will be sharing in your future profits.
Fortunately, there’s another funding option for Connecticut small business owners. This involves various grants that are offered by both government and private agencies. Unlike loans, grants don’t have to be repaid. Often you have flexibility in how grant money can be used. As you build your 2026 financing plan, take time to consider grants. A grant might just be the solution to bridge the gap between your available financing and the money you truly need to get your endeavor up and running or to expand into new opportunities.
There are thousands of grant opportunities out there, waiting for some business to claim them. However, they’re not going to come to you; you have to go out there and find them. Here are some guidelines for discovering what grants might be available for your Connecticut business, as well as information on how to learn more and actually apply for them.
What are small business grants?
A small business grant is a sum of money awarded to a small business. It is a gift. You don’t have to pay it back, as you would a loan. Unlike an infusion from a venture capital investment, it doesn’t give someone else ownership in your company. A venture capitalist is entitled to a share of your future profits, but a grant allows you to retain complete ownership. If the grant enables you to earn more money, you get to keep all of it.
Grants are distributed by a number of entities, including all levels of government, nonprofits, private programs, and even corporations. They often promote certain business activities such as research and development or energy innovation. Sometimes they’re targeted at a specific region of your state. Some give preference to companies owned by women and minorities.
Grants are often given as an incentive for a company to invest in specific activities, such as promoting environmental health or advancing social justice. Most grant providers require you to show how you will use the money to address these concerns. Other grants give the entrepreneur broad discretion in how the money is used.
Grants can be a lifesaver for a company in the startup phase, when financing is hard to come by. They’re also a welcome supplement when a business is looking to expand. If you require more cash but are leery of taking on new debt, a grant may be just what your business needs.
Connecticut state-specific grants for 2026
There are thousands of grants available for Connecticut small businesses. To simplify searching, there are consolidation sites that present many of these awards in one place. A large one is US Grants, which show grants for businesses all over the country as well as those in Connecticut. With this consolidator, you must create an account, then you can enter parameters to narrow down your search.
Connecticut agencies such as the Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) offer grants for businesses, particularly those focused on the tech field. The Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection (DEEP) coordinates a number of grants that are funded by the federal government and distributed by the state. The Manufacturing Innovation Fund (MIF) provides grants to support small to medium-sized manufacturers.
Here is a small sampling of the grants that a Connecticut search will turn up.
Innovation Clusters Fund
The Connecticut Innovation Clusters Program is a $100 million state initiative administered by the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) to accelerate growth in Connecticut’s key innovative industries, including biotechnology, financial technology, insurance technology, and advanced manufacturing, with a particular focus on next-generation technologies such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing.
It’s worth noting that this program is not a grant that individual small businesses can apply for directly. Rather, it funds large-scale, multi-partner infrastructure projects, think innovation districts, research hubs, and public-private partnerships involving universities, municipalities, and major corporate partners. If your business is part of a larger consortium or innovation ecosystem in Connecticut, it may be worth reaching out to DECD at [email protected] to explore whether there are opportunities to participate. For individual small business grants, the other programs listed on this page are a better starting point.
Realist Lab Venture Launch Fellows Program
This aims for a more equitable and inclusive Connecticut. It’s a five year program offering awards of $5,000 to $25,000. It’s available for new small businesses that are looking to scale technology and increase revenue. Funds can be used for general operating expenses. As is the case with many grants, preference is given to minorities, women, the disabled, veterans, and businesses in struggling communities.
Learn more at the Realist Lab site.
Black Business Alliance (BBA)
There are approximately 20 awards each year of the five-year program, with grants up to $15,000. Money can be used for both new assets and working capital. Businesses involved with the BBA in technical assistance are preferred, as are those owned by underrepresented entrepreneurs and those located in distressed localities.
Manufacturing Innovation Fund (MIF)
Connecticut’s Manufacturing Innovation Fund is a $75 million state investment administered by DECD through the Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology (CCAT). It’s designed to help small and medium-sized Connecticut manufacturers stay competitive through a suite of grant programs covering equipment, workforce training, cybersecurity, and sustainability upgrades.
The main programs available include the Manufacturing Voucher Program (up to $100,000 for equipment or productivity projects), the Additive Voucher Program (up to $20,000 for 3D printing and related technologies), GreenGAIN (up to $25,000 for energy efficiency and renewable energy), the Cybersecurity Adoption Program (up to $35,000 for cybersecurity and smart factory improvements), Incumbent Worker Training (up to $50,000 to reimburse 50% of employee upskilling costs), and Apprenticeship Funding (up to $15,000 per apprentice).
All programs require your business to be a Connecticut-based manufacturer. Applications are submitted through CCAT’s online grant portal at grants.ccat.us on a rolling basis.
Industry-specific and niche grants
Some Connecticut grants are widely available and can be used for general business investment and expenses. Others are aimed at specific communities or specific regions of the state. Here are some examples of these more targeted awards.
Southeastern Connecticut Enterprise Region Corporation (SeCTer)
These are offered to startups and ongoing businesses in southeastern Connecticut. Some of the targeted business areas are offshore wind supply chain and renewable energy, childcare services, and agriculture/aquaculture production. There are 95 to 100 grants every year in amounts from $500 to $200,000. Money can be used for capital expenses, equipment, and debt consolidation.
More info is available from the Southeast Connecticut Enterprise Region.
Hartford Economic Development Corporation (HEDCO)/Spanish American Merchants Association (SAMA)
These two interconnected programs are aimed at helping small businesses, with 25 or fewer employees, cover working capital expenses and also hire specialists in fields such as law and accounting. Grants can be up to $30,000. These grants favor minorities, women, disabled, LGBTQ+, veteran-owned businesses, and businesses located in struggling municipalities.
Federal grants available to Connecticut businesses
Connecticut business owners should not confine their search to grants offered only within the state. It’s also worth your while to look at federal grants. Many of the federal agencies offer them, and there is a U.S. government website, Grants.gov, that is has a wealth of information. Not only does it list the grants and the eligibility requirements; it also provides general information about government grants as well as tips about applying.
The site has a searchable database with options to narrow the choices to programs you might be eligible for. Here a just a few of the grants that a Connecticut business might consider.
Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)
SBIR grants support R&D projects, and they are restricted to businesses of 500 or fewer employees. The underlying goal of the awards is innovation. The agency encourages participation from traditionally underserved businesses.
The web.gov site provides a number of methods whereby you can apply for its grants.
Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR)
STTR grants are also in support of R&D. However, there is more of a focus is on collaboration between the awarded businesses and non-profit research institutions. Like SBIR grants, htey are for businesses with no more than 500 employees. They favor research with military or commercial implications.
Apply though the processes at web.gov.
Note: The SBIR and STTR programs lapsed on September 30, 2025, after Congress missed the reauthorization deadline. Both programs were reauthorized in March 2026 and are now active through September 30, 2031.
U.S. Department of Education Grants
There are a number of grants focused on small businesses that are involved in education. Some of them are for non-profits and public schools, but many are available for private sector companies. Each has its own eligibility requirements.
Deadlines vary by program and are updated regularly. See the Department of Education’s grants website for current application windows before applying.
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
A non-regulatory agency of the Department of Commerce offers these. They are for startups doing R&D in technology fields such as communications, AI, bioscience, and nanotechnology.
Apply at web.gov
Corporate and private foundation grants for 2026
Government agencies aren’t the only source of grants. Many come from major corporations and private foundations, which often offer the same grants year after year. Here are some awards you can look for in 2026.
StreetShares Foundation Veteran Small Business Award
These are awarded to active-duty service members, veterans, and their spouses. The business must in some way have a social impact on the veteran community. Awards are $4,000 to $15,000.
The application deadline is October of each year.
The FedEx Small Business Grant (CLOSED)
FedEx targeted this grant to its own customers. Besides having a FedEx account, applicants couldn’t have more than 99 employees, and been in business for at least six months. The awards totalled $230,000 annually.
The FedEx Small Business Grant Contest ran from 2012 through 2024 and is no longer accepting applications. We recommend checking the FedEx Small Business resources page for any future programs or new grant opportunities they may announce.
Amber Grants for Women
Women’s Net offers this monthly award. In most months, three women each win a $10,000 prize. These winners can then apply for the annual $25,000 award.
Applicants submit a story that expounds the business idea and tells how the grant would be used. Women’s Net favors stories that come from the heart rather than those written in formal business language.
Conclusion
These are only a sampling of the thousands of grant opportunities that are available to the Connecticut entrepreneur. If you’re doing R&D, if you want to make your business greener, if your business caters to underserved communities, if your business can help revitalize a downtown area, or if you simply want to get your business off the ground and continue to grow it, there is a company, agency or foundation that offers an award you can apply for.
Grants are too good a business opportunity to overlook. Unlike loans, they don’t have to be repaid. Unlike venture capital, they don’t take partial ownership of your company or demand a share of future profits. Grants are out there, but you have to know about them, and you have to apply for them.
If you’re a starting a business in Connecticut check out the grants described here, and use the research tools to find similar awards. Take time and care with your application; those that best state their case will come up winners in the process. There’s plenty of grant money out there, and there’s no reason why you shouldn’t claim some of it.