Grants for Individuals - Business and Commerce

This grant provides financial support and resources to choreographers and circus artists in Massachusetts to help them create original work and advance their careers.

The 2025 ALBA/Puffin Human Rights Award is a $100,000 prize offered by the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives and the Puffin Foundation to support individuals or organizations continuing the activist legacy of the U.S. volunteers who fought in the Spanish Civil War, with applications including nominee details, a justification for nomination, and an explanation of how the nominee's work is inspired by the International Brigades' activism.

The Neal Peirce Foundation is offering up to seven travel grants of up to $1,500 each in 2024 to journalists, particularly those early in their careers or from underrepresented backgrounds, to support the coverage of underreported stories about urban solutions that improve cities and regions for all people, with the expectation that travel and story submission will occur within three months of receiving the award.

The Artist Support Grant, funded by Dare Arts in North Carolina, offers $500 to $1,000 to individual artists and small artist groups for professional development, completion of new work, career promotion, training, travel, and artist fees, with eligibility limited to residents of selected counties who are not full-time students or recipients of other FY 2024-2025 N.C. Arts Council funding.

The City of Stockton and Stockton Arts Commission are offering a grant of $10,000 to $100,000 for local artists and art organizations to fund projects that promote public engagement and access to various forms of art within the city, with funds being used for artist compensation, production, exhibit costs, marketing, rental cost, and supplies.

Nominations are now being accepted for the 2024 Beautification Awards. Donor Name: City of Livermore State: County: All Counties Type of Grant: Awards and Prizes Deadline: (mm/dd/yyyy) 09/15/2024 Size of the Grant: Not Available Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned Details: These awards recognize the efforts of the community members in enhancing and increasing the aesthetic attraction of Livermore and also promote creativity, community pride and economic vitality. Nominated property category ideas: residential site improvements retail or commercial upgrades water wise or native plant landscapes historical renovations other structural renovations, restorations, and new builds that include noteworthy landscape design. Application Requirements Properties must be located within the corporate limits of the City of Livermore. Projects must be visible from a public street or trail. Submissions must have the consent of the owner. Self-nominations are encouraged. Projects that have won in the previous five (5) years are not eligible. Award Selection Criteria Improvements to outdoor spaces, including landscape and hardscape renovations, are important components for award selection: How the project visually enhances the property. How the home/business incorporates design, maintenance, color, organization and creativity to compliment and/or enrich the visual appeal of the existing community. How the home/business structure, architectural design and landscaping are combined for maximum visual effect. For more information, visit City of Livermore.

This competition provides funding and support for teams developing innovative high-temperature seismic sensors to improve geothermal energy monitoring and enhance the understanding of subsurface conditions.

The Four County Community Foundation (4CCF) is pleased to announce the Spark Grant Program. Donor Name: Four County Community Foundation State: County: All Counties Type of Grant: Grant Deadline: (mm/dd/yyyy) 08/31/2024 Size of the Grant: $10,000 to $100,000 Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned Details: The Spark Grant format is intended to feel more accessible and interactive than a traditional grant application process but is more focused in the type of projects it funds like that of Union Food Group’s. One of four proposals awarded in 2023, the Shelby Township-based business partnered with the Hispanic Service Center in Imlay City to offer reduced-cost Spanish-language food safety training. This project met a need for local entrepreneurs who feel more comfortable receiving ServSafe training in their native language. According to the Census Bureau, more than one-third of new businesses created in 2023 were owned by Latinos. The panel has a pool of $50,000 to award and is most interested in proposals that are truly innovative and seek to meet an unmet community need in 4CCF’s service area. Criteria Applicants—both individuals and nonprofit groups—can apply to present an in-person proposal to a panel of 4CCF committee members followed by a five-minute question and answer session. For more information, visit 4CCF.

The Artist Support Grant provides direct support to individual artists for professional and artistic development, either to enhance their skills and abilities to create work, or to improve their business operations and capacity to bring the work to audiences. Donor Name: Stokes County Arts Council State: North Carolina County: Selected Counties Type of Grant: Grant Deadline: (mm/dd/yyyy) 09/13/2024 Size of the Grant: $1000 to $10,000 Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned Details: Funding Information $500 – $1,500 Eligibility Criteria The Artist Support Grant is intended to support a broad range of talented visual, performing, literary, and interdisciplinary artists. Emerging and established artists  Eligible candidates may be either emerging or established artists. Applicants should demonstrate a commitment to spending a significant portion of their time on their work as artists. Individuals and groups  Individuals and Artist Collectives Both individual artists and small, unincorporated groups of collaborating artists are eligible to apply.  All members of a collaborating team must be North Carolina residents, live in the region where they are applying, and meet the other eligibility requirements. Résumés documenting residence from all team members should be included with the application. Residency  Artists should have lived in the region where they are applying continuously for at least one year prior to the consortium’s application deadline. An applicant must be at least 18 years old and either a U.S. citizen or a lawful permanent resident. Proof of residence and status may be required by the consortium. Artists who live in more than one region should apply only where they spend the majority of the year. Regions Region 2: Beaufort, Dare, Hyde, Martin, Tyrrell and Washington  Region 10: Caswell, Rockingham, Stokes, Surry and Yadkin  Region 14: Alexander, Burke, Caldwell, Catawba, Iredell and McDowell  Region 16: Avery, Madison, Mitchell and Yancey For more information, visit Stokes County Arts Council.

This program provides up to $20,000 in funding and training support to veteran entrepreneurs at any stage of their business development, focusing on for-profit ventures.

This funding opportunity provides $500 micro grants to empower women of African and Caribbean descent who are entrepreneurs, nonprofit founders, or creatives, supporting projects that positively impact culture and community.

This grant provides $4,250 to support U.S.-based women and minority entrepreneurs in growing their businesses through funding, resources, and mentorship.

This funding opportunity provides $20,000 to independent creators and freelance artists in the US and Canada to help overcome financial challenges and support their creative projects.

The Alachua County Board of County Commissioners, in partnership with the Arts Council of Alachua County (ACAC), is pleased to announce the 2024/2025 Arts Tag grant program, made possible, in part, through the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). Donor Name: Arts Council of Alachua County (ACAC) State: County: All Counties Type of Grant: Grant Deadline: (mm/dd/yyyy) 07/31/2024 Size of the Grant: $1000 to $10,000 Grant Duration: 1 Year Details: The Art Tag grant program aims to improve Alachua County’s arts activities to increase the community’s access to a wide range of diverse arts experiences, especially in underserved communities. Access to arts and culture can foster the growth of the creative economy, encourage cultural entrepreneurship, and stimulate business development or relationships in related sectors. Funding Information The total funds to be sub-granted through the Art Tag grant program is $44,000, which includes $14,000 additional funds provided by Visit Gainesville, Alachua County and the Art Tag license plate sales. Funding requests for individual artists, artist collaborators, and not-for-profit organizations is up to $3,000. Funding requests for small cities requires a 1:1 match up to $5,000. Project Period October 1, 2024 – September 30, 2025 Eligibility Criteria Individual artists, artist collaborators, not-for-profit organizations, and the cities of Alachua, Archer, Hawthorne, High Springs, LaCrosse, Micanopy, Newberry, and Waldo are eligible to apply if the following criteria are met: If an artist, the applicant must:  Be a resident of Alachua County, Florida  Be a US Citizen  Be 18 years or older If an organization:  Recognized as a tax-exempt 501(c)3  Has a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): Organizations MUST have a valid UEI to receive federal funding (previously a DUNS number). If a municipality:  Only the cities of Alachua, Archer, Hawthorne, High Springs, LaCrosse, Micanopy, Newberry and Waldo are eligible to apply.  Has a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): Organizations MUST have a valid UEI to receive federal funding (previously a DUNS number). For more information, visit ACAC.

This program provides financial support to women worldwide to help them start or grow businesses, NGOs, or projects that create a positive social impact for women, girls, and families.

The Town of Glastonbury is currently accepting applications for the 2024 Farm Assistance Program that will provide financial assistance to eligible farmers who were negatively impacted by the significant weather events. Donor Name: Town of Glastonbury State: County: All Counties Type of Grant: Grant | Reimbursement Deadline: (mm/dd/yyyy) 07/01/2024 Size of the Grant: $1000 to $10,000 Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned Details: To support local farmers, the Town of Glastonbury established the Farm Assistance Program (FAP) 2024. This reimbursable grant program will provide one-time funding support to eligible farmers to help them overcome the financial hardships resulting from 2023 weather events, and/or to invest in the long-term viability of their farm business. The Glastonbury Town Council appropriated $220,000 of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds for the 2024 Farm Assistance Program (FAP). Funding Information Eligible farmers can apply for reimbursement grants of up to $10,000 to help sustain or grow their business. Eligible Expenses Grant monies can be used to REIMBURSE one or more of the following expenses Payroll / Recruitment / Training Rent / Mortgage Assistance Utilities Operational expenses Equipment / Technology Capital improvements Marketing programs to support farm business growth Investments to improve viability of the farm business Eligibility Criteria To be eligible for the FAP, the farm business must: be current on all property taxes owed to the Town of Glastonbury. actively farm at least 10 acres of land in Glastonbury, CT. farm Glastonbury land that is registered in the PA490 program. gross at least $100,000 per year based on the total average gross of their 3 best years over the last 5 years. have sustained a financial hardship due to the 2023 weather.  For more information, visit Town of Glastonbury.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office (AMMTO) is launching the American-Made Electronics Scrap Recycling Advancement Prize (ESCRAP) $3.95 million in prizes, this three-phase prize is designed to stimulate innovative approaches that reduce the costs and environmental impact of critical material recovery from electronic scrap (e-scrap) Donor Name: U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) State: All States County: All Counties Type of Grant: Awards and Prizes Deadline: 09/05/2024 Size of the Grant: $500,000 to $1 Million Grant Duration: 1 Year Details: The Electronics Scrap Recycling Advancement Prize (E-SCRAP) is a $3.95M challenge sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office (AMMTO). The prize aims to stimulate innovative approaches that reduce the costs and environmental impact of critical material recovery from electronic scrap (e-scrap). This prize focuses on innovative approaches, processes, or technologies in service of optimizing and implementing critical material separation and recovery from e-scrap. The prize is open to any competitor who works in waste collection and management, dismantling and sorting, separation, refining, validation, and material supply. This is a non-exhaustive list and those who are working in the recycling value chain are encouraged to apply. E-SCRAP is not just a competition; it’s a catalyst for change. By addressing challenges in the e-scrap recycling value chain, competitor teams can each win up to $800,000 in cash prizes and $150,000 in national laboratory analysis support over the course of the three-phase competition. The prize is open to competitors looking to: Build partnerships across the recycling value chain to optimize and integrate critical material separation and recovery technologies. Develop and demonstrate innovations along the recycling value chain to enhance the recovery of critical materials from e-scrap. Select at least one challenge (technical, supply chain, or related logistics hurdle) that needs further development and establish high impact opportunities (co-recovery, feedstock flexibility, information share, material benchmarking…) that will increase the domestic supply of critical materials from e-scrap. Create or enhance supply chains to increase material circularity (e.g., accelerating connectivity between collection, sorting, pre-treatment, processing, refining, validation, and material qualification) Areas of Interest Examples of innovations of interest include: Innovations focused on electronic scrap and could include communication devices such as mobile phones, home appliances, medical or office equipment—anything powered by electricity. Innovations that establish or expand the supply chains of the following critical materials for clean energy: aluminum, cobalt, copper, dysprosium, electrical steel, fluorine, gallium, iridium, lithium, magnesium, natural graphite, neodymium, nickel, platinum, praseodymium, silicon, silicon carbide, and terbium. Innovative approaches, processes, or technologies with improvements to collection and management of scrap, dismantling and sorting, separation, refining, validation, and material supply that serve the optimization and integration of critical material separation and recovery technologies from e-scrap. Innovative approaches, processes, or technologies in service of optimizing and implementing critical material separation and recovery from e-scrap. Innovative approaches to multiple recovery pathways including: Material separation (e.g., Nd separation from shredded e-scrap) Component recovery (e.g., targeted disassembly for removal of permanent magnets from motors or hard disk drives) Reuse (e.g., recovery, validation, and integration of second-life magnets into electronic or energy applications) Integrated recycling value chains that optimize feedstock concentration (sorting and pretreatment) and material separation (e.g., electrochemically) to produce Nd from e-scrap. Innovative approaches to recovering one or more critical materials and value-added products in parallel or in series from e-scrap. Funding Information Phase 1 Prize: $50,000 in cash and $30,000 of analysis consulting during Phase 2 Duration (Months): Six months Phase 2 Prize: $150,000 in cash and $120,000 in analysis technical support during Phase 3 Duration (Months): Nine months Phase 3 Prize: $600,000 in cash Duration (Months): 12 months. Eligibility Criteria  The competition is open only to individuals; private entities (for-profits and nonprofits); nonfederal government entities such as states, counties, tribes, and municipalities; and academic institutions; subject to the following requirements: An individual prize competitor (who is not competing as a member of a group) must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident. A group of individuals competing as one team may win, provided that the online account holder of the submission is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident. Individuals competing as part of a team are eligible to participate if they are legally authorized to work in the United States. Private entities must be incorporated in and maintain a primary place of business in the United States. Academic institutions must be based in the United States. DOE employees, employees of sponsoring organizations, members of their immediate families (e.g., spouses, children, siblings, or parents), and persons living in the same household as such persons, whether or not related, are not eligible to participate in the prize. Individuals who worked at DOE (federal employees or support service contractors) within six months prior to the submission deadline of any contest are not eligible to participate in any prize contests in this program. Federal entities and federal employees are not eligible to participate in any portion of the prize. NREL employees not involved in the administration of the prize and all other national lab employees, including laboratory researchers, may participate as private individuals, provided they do not use their facilities at the national laboratories. Entities and individuals publicly banned from doing business with the U.S. government such as entities and individuals debarred, suspended, or otherwise excluded from or ineligible for participating in Federal programs are not eligible to compete. Individuals participating in a foreign government talent recruitment program sponsored by a country of risk18 and teams that include such individuals are not eligible to compete. Entities owned by, controlled by, or subject to the jurisdiction or direction of a government of a country of risk are not eligible to compete. For more information, visit DOE.

The Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) Recovery Reimbursement Grant, administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, aims to support farms, integrators, and allied industries directly impacted by HPAI, particularly those within control or quarantine zones. The program is designed to mitigate financial losses by reimbursing eligible costs related to the outbreak. With five rounds of funding, the latest round focuses on biosecurity enhancement reimbursements up to $25,000 per premises, with a total fund allocation of $2 million. This initiative encourages the implementation or improvement of biosecurity practices to elevate poultry farm and business biosecurity standards, address weaknesses, and decrease HPAI cases. The application deadline for Round Five has been extended to May 2, 2024, with eligible expenses including loss of income, mortgage interest, rent, utility payments, working capital for reopening, and payroll costs among others.

This fund provides matching financial support to small and mid-sized New York farms for safety improvements and repairs, helping them create a safer working environment.

The National Sea Grant College Program was enacted by the U.S. Congress in 1966 (amended in 2020, Public Law 116-221) to support leveraged federal and state partnerships that harness the intellectual capacity of the nations universities and research institutions to solve problems and generate opportunities in coastal communities. The American lobster (Homarus americanus) and its fishery continue to face significant environmental complexity and socio-economic uncertainty with far-reaching impacts for resource management and community resiliency. In 2022, the American lobster fishery landed approximately 119 million pounds of lobster worth $516 million dollars. This stands in stark contrast to the 2021 commercial harvest that landed 134 million pounds of lobster worth a record setting $924 million dollars. Recent surveys have detected a nearly 40% decline in young lobster recruitment from the important fishing areas of Georges Bank and the Gulf of Maine, signaling concern for the fisherys future and challenges for resource managers and lobster fishermen alike. While there are fluctuations each year that reflect environmental factors such as water temperature and economic conditions such as operational costs, the degree of volatility and uncertainty is without precedent. These impacts are particularly acute in the state of Maine, where approximately eighty percent of American Lobsters are landed each year and the lobster fishery is a major driver of the states marine economy and cultural identity. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commissions 2020 stock assessment indicated record high stock abundance for American Lobster in the Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank and continued declines in southern New England. Additional analyses of landing data from the state of Maine show a downward trend from a high in 2016 of 132 million pounds to an annual average of 102 million pounds between 2019 and 2021. As ecosystem changes persist and the Gulf of Maine continues to warm, it is imperative that research, data, and observations document change, inform gaps, and help communities prepare for the future state of the American Lobster fishery. The American Lobster fisherys sustainability relies not only on the ecological understanding of the species in the face of environmental change but also the economic resiliency of the industry and the communities supported by the fishery. Expanding uses of the marine environment and anticipated management changes will have significant implications for future harvests, alter business models and shift how and where the lobster industry operates. Understanding the economic and social systems impacted by these changes can enhance the industry and communities capacity for resilience to impending environmental and resource management changes by mitigating negative impacts and supporting emerging opportunities. Research approaches that examine social systems and economic implications of regulatory/management changes are needed to fill a critical knowledge gap and inform integrated approaches to these complex issues impacting the lobster fishery. These include economic impact assessments, policy analyses, dimensions of community well-being, workforce diversification, as well as informal and formal governance structures. In FY24, consistent with its mission to enhance practical use and conservation in order to create a sustainable economy and environment, Sea Grants American Lobster Research Program will fund projects that address priority research needs to enhance our understanding of and address impacts to this significant, complex and dynamic fishery. Projects that involve partnerships among industry, State agencies, and/or academia, including but not limited to cooperative research or co-production, are strongly encouraged. Topics suitable for investigation on American lobster and its fishery under this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) should have a geographic focus on the Gulf of Maine, Georges Bank, and/or southern New England and address one or more of the following funding priorities: Life history parameters under changing climate conditions, including but not limited to temperature, growth, and mortality Species distribution and abundance in response to environmental change, including but not limited to deep water settlement Impacts of environmental change and/or economic uncertainty on social systems, including but not limited to dimensions of community well-being, formal and informal governance structures, and workforce diversification Economic implications of policy and potential regulatory changes and/or other future resource management actions Sea Grant anticipates having up to $2 million dollars to fund a diversity of projects with funding requests up to $600,000 dollars in FY24. Projects may be one or two years in duration with a maximum of two years. All projects must take place within the United States or territories or their respective waterways. Applicant organizations must complete and maintain three registrations to be eligible to apply for or receive an award. These registrations include SAM.gov, Grants.gov, and eRA Commons. All registrations must be completed prior to the application being submitted. The complete registration process for all three systems can take 4 to 6 weeks, so applicants should begin this activity as soon as possible. If an eligible applicant does not have access to the internet, please contact the Agency Contacts listed in Section VII for submission instructions. Prior to registering with eRA Commons, applicant organizations must first obtain a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) from SAM.gov, if needed (refer to Section IV. Applications and Submission Information, Section C). Organizations can register with eRA Commons in tandem with completing their full SAM and Grants.gov registrations; however, all registrations must be in place by time of application submission. eRA Commons requires organizations to identify at least one Signing Official (SO) and at least one Program Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI) account in order to submit an application. This document sets out requirements for submitting to NOAA-OAR-SG-2024-25871.