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Small-business owners are increasingly confident about the future — and Black business owners are even more optimistic.
That’s one takeaway from JPMorgan Chase’s Midyear Business Leaders Outlook, which found 59% of small-business owners said they were more optimistic about their business now than at any point in the last five years. Meanwhile, about 70% of Black business owners said the same.
Overall, about 36% of small-business owners said they intend to keep growing this year despite inflation, while that number rose to 50% among Black business owners. Inflation still topped out as the biggest challenge for small-business owners at 35%, followed by uncertain economic conditions at 20%.
For business owners looking for an edge, we have assembled some small-business grants to apply for in September.
PepsiCo grants for women founders
Beverage and snack giant PepsiCo, through its Juntos Crecemos program, launched the third round of its Jefa-Owned business grant. In partnership with actress and philanthropist Stephanie Beatriz and the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the program will award $200,000 in grants to 20 women entrepreneurs in the food and beverage industry.
Applications will be accepted until Sept. 27.
Winners will also get access to the PepsiCo Juntos Crecemos Hispanic Digital & Delivery Program, a five-week series that includes personalized consultations on delivery logistics, technology, marketing and search engine optimization (SEO) — a package valued at about $12,000 per participant.
Businesses must be a for-profit woman-owned restaurant, bodega, carniceria, catering service or food truck — or otherwise in the food and beverage industry and have a demonstrated need for funding.
Credibly cash awards
Online lender Credibly is offering a series of cash grants as part of its Credibly Small Business Award. The random drawing will select one grand prize winner for $50,000, one second-prize winner for $20,000 and three third-prize winners for $10,000 each.
Businesses must be for-profit entities based in the United States, and must not compete with Credibly, according to the official rules. The business must have been selling a product or service for at least six months at the time of entry.
Applications are open through the end of September.
VistaPrint, Female Founder World announce new grant
The new Female Founder World Grant presented by VistaPrint seeks to award one $15,000 cash grant plus marketing support to one small business. Businesses must have annual revenue of at least $40,000 and less than $1 million, as well as fewer than 10 employees. The company must sell a physical product.
Business owners must apply before the end of September 17, 2024. The winner will be announced in October or November.
TD Ready Challenge $1 million grants
TD Bank is aiming to award 10 grants of $1 million each to nonprofit organizations as part of its 2024 TD Ready Challenge. It’s targeting nonprofit and charitable organizations that are coming up with innovative ways to support underserved small-business owners. That includes creating new businesses and growing existing ones with novel strategies, technologies or partnerships, especially in industries hard-hit by the pandemic.
The grants will be paid out in three annual installments. Winners will be required to submit progress reports on how the money was spent.
The deadline for the 2024 grant was Sept. 5.
LegalZoom, NBA, WNBA offer $3 million grant
LegalZoom’s Fast Break for Small Business grant program, in partnership with the NBA and WNBA, will be awarding $1.5 million in grants to 150 small-business owners and $1.5 million in products and services to 3,000 entrepreneurs looking to start their own business.
Small businesses that have been in operation for at least three months are eligible to apply for the individual $10,000 grants or up to $500 in LegalZoom products and services. Winners will be announced on social media. Action Opportunity Fund will administer the small-business grant awards.
The application window closes Sept. 13.
Restaurant Disaster Relief Fund $10,000 grants
Small-business owners who have been hit by a natural disaster are eligible for a $10,000 grant made possible by a partnership between DoorDash and small-business platform Hello Alice.
To be eligible, a business must operate in the restaurant space and have a brick-and-mortar location, three or fewer total locations, $3 million or less in revenue per location, and fewer than 50 employees per location.
Businesses also must be experiencing hardship because of a state or federally declared natural disaster.
Applications closed on Sept. 3. Recipients will be announced later this month.
Additional opportunities for small businesses
Entrepreneurs and business owners looking for assistance have other resources available to them as well. We’ve compiled a rundown of some of the other grant opportunities and types of training and technical assistance available to companies throughout 2024 at bizjournals.com/bizjournals/news/2024/01/02/small-business-grants-you-can-apply-for-in-2024.
This story was originally published Sept. 2, 2024, in The Business Journals.
