Amex Shop Small Grants Program

The Amex Shop Small Grants Program, a collaboration between American Express and Main Street America, is designed to support the growth, innovation, and community engagement of small businesses across the United States. American Express, a multinational financial services corporation known for its ongoing support of entrepreneurship, launched Small Business Saturday in 2010 as part of the broader Shop Small Movement. This annual event, held on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, aims to encourage consumers to support small businesses in their communities. Since its inception, this movement has helped drive an estimated $223 billion in reported consumer spending at small businesses. Through this new grant initiative, American Express and Main Street America are offering an initial pool of $5 million to provide 250 grants of $20,000 each to eligible small business owners. Additionally, on Small Business Saturday 2025, for every qualifying transaction made with an eligible American Express card at a participating small business, American Express will donate $1 toward funding additional grants. The program is national in scope and seeks to recognize and amplify small businesses that serve as cornerstones of their communities. Applications open on November 29, 2025, and close on January 16, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. Central Time. Eligible applicants must be at least 18 years old and must have owned a qualifying small business by January 1, 2025. The business must be for-profit, independently owned, have a physical brick-and-mortar location operating since at least January 1, 2025, be located within one of the 50 U.S. states or Washington D.C., and employ 20 or fewer full-time equivalent employees. Businesses that are franchises, nonprofits, based in shared spaces, home-based, online-only, or located in U.S. territories are not eligible. Applicants must submit a detailed and ready-to-execute project plan with a corresponding itemized budget. Projects must be completed within the six-month grant period from April to September 2026. Eligible expenses include large capital projects, marketing refreshes, and new revenue stream development, as well as community-centric improvements like gathering spaces or event hosting. If the business does not already engage in community support, a portion of the grant must be used for this purpose. Funds may not be used for past expenses, debt repayment, rent, payroll, or personal uses. Applications will be evaluated based on eligibility, the proposed project's business and community impact, local relevance, and feasibility of completion within the grant term. Selected grantees will be notified in March 2026. Throughout the grant period, Main Street America will facilitate networking among recipients and offer self-guided e-learning resources to support implementation. For more information, applicants can reach out to the program via email at smallbizgrant@mainstreet.org or by calling 708-515-4889. All inquiries should allow up to five business days for a response.

Ensure the project plan is fully executable within six months; demonstrate both business and community impact clearly.