Grants for Small businesses - Employment Labor and Training

This program provides funding to small businesses and commercial property owners in Fort Thomas, Kentucky, for improving their storefronts and interiors to boost economic growth and community revitalization.

This funding opportunity provides financial support to locomotive owners in Minnesota for implementing technologies that reduce idle time and diesel emissions, improving air quality and public health.

The Employment Development Department (EDD), in coordination with the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency (LWDA), announces the availability of up to $1 million in California State General Funds for the Evaluation and Technical Assistance (ETA) for the Displaced Oil and Gas Worker Fund (DOGWF). The DOGWF ETA PY 23-24 awardee will be responsible for providing evaluation and technical assistance for DOGWF PY 23-24 program awardees as they pioneer initiatives that guide displaced oil and gas workers into new jobs and career trajectories by extending beyond singular sectors, committed to securing stable, well-compensated, and gratifying roles for these workers across diverse industries. The DOGWF ETA PY 23-24 grant aims to enhance the effectiveness and sustainability of DOGWF projects. The initiative seeks to fund an organization with expertise in assessing program and operational capacity, facilitating Communities of Practice (CoPs), conducting a developmental evaluation for continuous learning and improvement, and addressing the needs of displaced workers impacted by energy sector shifts for future policy and program planning. In addition, the ETA awardee will support program grantees with developing and implementing strategies for partnership development, participant assessment, skills transfer, career navigation, administering training stipends, providing wrap-around support, identifying relevant career pathways and training programs, and guidance on participant tracking and performance outcomes reporting. Applicants for the DOGWF ETA must be organizations with the capacity, relationships, and expertise to deliver ETA to grantees across the state. Proposals from non-profit or for-profit consulting, technical assistance, evaluation, capacity-building organizations, labor organizations, community colleges, adult education providers, workforce boards, and education and training providers will be accepted. Proposals must be received by 3 p.m. PST on July 22, 2024. An informational webinar will be held on June 25, 2024, at 1:30 p.m. PST.  Pre-registration is required for all attendees. Please register through the following link by June 24, 2024 by 9 a.m. PST: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_EOwky4VSQ06lWDMieX-9bA The EDD encourages applicants to submit a Notice of Intent to apply by July 1, 2024, at noon to WSBSFP1@edd.ca.gov. To view this SFP, visit the EDD Workforce Development Solicitations for Proposals webpage

This grant invites private sector companies and organizations to collaborate with USAID on projects that address economic growth, financial inclusion, and environmental sustainability, leveraging their resources and expertise to achieve shared development goals.

This funding opportunity provides financial support to organizations training electricians in California to install electric vehicle charging infrastructure, with a focus on increasing access for disadvantaged and rural communities.

The Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure (RFSI) program, funded by the USDA, allocates approximately $2 million for infrastructure grants to Vermont businesses and organizations aiming to strengthen local and regional food systems. The grants support projects that improve the aggregation, distribution, manufacturing, processing, storing, transporting, and wholesaling of Vermont food products. This track encourages development of Vermont value-added products and promotes fair wages and job creation. A 50% match is required, which can be reduced to 25% for historically underserved farmers. Grants range from $100,000 to $500,000 and are available from fall 2024 through February 2027.

The Olympic Peninsula Visitor Bureau receives funding from room tax revenues generated in unincorporated Clallam County, aimed at promoting and enhancing lodging nights in the region. The grant is designed to support tourism-related projects and events in Clallam County that attract overnight visitors. Grants are awarded with a focus on tourism promotion and marketing, as well as supporting appropriate special events. The available grant funds total $125,000 for 2024, typically not exceeding $7,500 per project/event, with a cap of $15,000 per annum per applicant organization. Grant renewed every year.

This program provides matching funds to small businesses in Decatur, Georgia, to improve their digital marketing efforts and enhance their online presence.

The Community Climate Collaborative Energy Efficiency Grants program offers funding to small businesses for upgrades aimed at improving energy efficiency. This includes enhancements to appliances, lighting, and heating/cooling systems. The program's core objective is to facilitate emissions reductions and generate financial savings for businesses through strategic capital investments. While not explicitly stating the "foundation's strategic priorities and theory of change" in a separate section, the program's focus on emissions reduction directly aligns with a broader mission of combating climate change, which is implicitly the strategic priority of an organization named "Community Climate Collaborative." The target beneficiaries of this grant program are small businesses operating within the City of Charlottesville or Albemarle County, Virginia. Specifically, eligible businesses must hold a business license in one of these locations and qualify as a Microbusiness according to Virginia SBSD criteria, meaning they have 25 employees or fewer. The program also prioritizes Woman- or Minority-owned Businesses, as defined by Virginia SBSD criteria, and encourages SWaM certification or equivalent documentation. This focused approach aims to empower local, smaller enterprises in their transition to more sustainable operations. The program's priorities and focuses are squarely on tangible energy efficiency upgrades that yield demonstrable savings in energy usage and/or a reduction in emissions. This indicates a results-oriented approach where the proposed upgrades must show a clear environmental benefit and potentially economic advantage for the grantee. The maximum grant amount of $2,000 per project highlights an emphasis on supporting numerous smaller-scale, impactful interventions rather than fewer large-scale projects, making the grants accessible to a wider range of microbusinesses. The expected outcomes and measurable results of these grants include both environmental and economic benefits. On the environmental front, the primary outcome is the reduction of emissions, contributing to local climate goals. Economically, businesses are expected to achieve financial savings due to decreased energy consumption. The requirement for proposed upgrades to have "demonstrable savings of energy usage and/or reduction of emissions" signifies a commitment to measurable impact, ensuring that the allocated funds lead to verifiable improvements. The program's design implicitly supports a theory of change where targeted financial assistance for energy efficiency upgrades directly leads to reduced environmental impact and improved economic resilience for small businesses in the local community.

This grant supports early-stage university-affiliated startups developing dual-use technologies that can benefit both commercial markets and the Department of Defense, providing funding, mentorship, and resources to help them engage with defense opportunities.

DPR's Research Grants Program supports projects that seek to advance integrated pest management (IPM) knowledge in agricultural, urban, or wildland settings. Projects should focus on reducing impacts to public health or the environment from pesticides of high regulatory interest. Summaries of previously funded Research Grants Program projects can be found on the Research Grants webpage.  The 2025 Research Grants Program is particularly seeking applications that address one or more of the following topic areas: · IPM for underserved or disadvantaged communities; · Decreasing the use of pesticides of high regulatory interest (such as fumigants like 1,3-dichloropropene or sulfuryl fluoride); · Advancement of urban IPM and safer, more sustainable pest management tools and strategies in urban settings; · Advancement of IPM and safer, more sustainable pest management tools and strategies in agricultural settings adjacent to or near a school(s); · Meeting the IPM needs of small growers; and/or TWO or more of the three sustainability pillars noted below and referenced in the Sustainable Pest Management (SPM) Roadmap: o Human Health and Social Equity o Environmental Protections o Economic Vitality For further definitions of these priority topic areas, please review the 2025 Research Grants Solicitation. Following the submission deadline, applications are concurrently reviewed by DPR staff and the Pest Management Advisory Committee (PMAC). Both groups evaluate the proposal application according to scoring criteria that can be found in the 2025 Research Grants Solicitation. This year, DPR invites projects with budgets ranging from $50,000 to $500,000 to apply. Eligible grantees include nonprofit agencies, tribal governments, individuals, businesses, and public agencies. There is no limit on the number of applications that can be submitted, including multiple applications from the same person or entity. PMAC members may apply, but they must follow the rules regarding conflict of interest in the PMAC Charter. All applicants and associated project personnel must meet DPR’s eligibility requirements that can be found in the 2025 Research Grants Solicitation. Keywords: Agriculture, Agricultural Commodity, Agricultural Crops, Agronomy, Air Quality, Automation, Bacteria, Bactericide, Climate Change, Community Health, Cover Crops, Cropping System, Crops, Ecology, Ecosystem, Emissions, Fauna, Fertility, Field Sanitation, Flora, Fruits, Fumigant, Fungi, Fungicide, Herbicide, Horticulture, Housing, Insect Pests, Insecticide, Integrated Pest Management, Irrigation, Lakes, Land Management, Laws and Regulations, Machinery, Mating Disruption, Miticide, Natural Enemies, Nuts, Oceans, Pathogens, Personal Protective Equipment, Pest, Pest Management, Pesticide, Plant Disease, Plant Protection, Pollinator, Pollution, Reduced-Risk, Rivers, Rodenticide, Soil Health, Streams, Sustainable, Training, Urban Pest Management, Vegetables, Vertebrate Pests, Virus, Volatile Organic Compounds, Water, Water Quality, Watershed, Weeds, Wildlands, Worker Health and Safety

The Border-to-Border Broadband Development Grant Program and the Low-Density Population Pilot Program, established by the Minnesota legislature in 2014 and continued in 2023, are aimed at promoting broadband infrastructure expansion in Minnesota's unserved or underserved areas. Managed by the State of Minnesota, Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED), these programs provide grants to assist broadband providers with the costs of infrastructure installation. The 2024 grant application cycle, announced by DEED, will open on March 12, 2024, with an application deadline of May 10, 2024. Applicants must register and submit applications via DEED’s Grants Management System, following the detailed instructions on DEED's website. The announcement of awards is anticipated in Summer 2024, with project completion required by December 31, 2026. DEED also hosts an information webinar to guide applicants through the application process.

The Recovery Friendly Workplace Pilot Program, launched by the Maryland Department of Labor, aims to create a supportive environment for employees recovering from substance use disorders. The program encourages employers to adopt workplace policies that assist in employee recovery, provides stigma-reducing education, and facilitates research on recovery-friendly practices. It seeks to promote workplace well-being and recovery for employees and their families while fostering community awareness.

Mountain BizWorks in North Carolina is offering 20 micro-grants of $2,500 each to startups and emerging businesses owned by historically underrepresented groups, aiming to support their growth and contribution to the local community.

This funding opportunity supports organizations in North Carolina that create innovative programs to strengthen local entrepreneurial ecosystems and promote economic growth.

The Butler Accelerator for Education & Workforce Innovation, powered by gener8tor, is a program designed to support startups across the United States that are poised to transform how individuals learn and work. This initiative aligns with gener8tor's mission to identify and cultivate innovative solutions for systemic change in education and workforce development, with a particular emphasis on post-secondary education and the future of work. The program seeks to address complex challenges in these areas by engaging with founders who reflect the diverse communities impacted. Each selected company receives a $100,000 investment and 12 weeks of intensive, mentorship-based programming, networking opportunities, and introductions to potential customers, all aimed at building and growing their businesses. The target beneficiaries of this accelerator are startups, particularly those led by marginalized founders from underrepresented groups, who are focused on making systemic change. The program specifically encourages applications from teams working on solutions for post-secondary education, equity in access, the future of work, and workforce training innovations. The overarching impact goal is to drive significant and scalable economic impact through these startups, ultimately transforming stagnant industries, methods, and processes through technology. Gener8tor's strategic priorities include supporting passionate and dedicated founders who bring diverse experiences to the challenges of education and workforce technology. The program prioritizes startups that demonstrate a clear focus on systemic change at various levels, including school, institution, corporate, government, and community. They actively seek founders who are eager to embrace technology as a means to innovate. Key areas of focus include education, equity in access, the future of work, and workforce training innovations. The theory of change behind this accelerator posits that by investing in and providing intensive support to high-potential startups led by diverse founders, they can accelerate the development and implementation of solutions that create more equitable access to education and prepare individuals for the evolving demands of the future workforce. Expected outcomes include the growth and scaling of participating businesses, leading to increased adoption of their innovative solutions. Measurable results would encompass the number of startups supported, the amount of additional investment secured by these companies, job creation, and the broader impact of their solutions on education and workforce outcomes. Gener8tor's expertise in sales, marketing, go-to-market strategies, and fundraising is leveraged to select startups primed for growth, ensuring that their network, resources, and expertise can significantly scale the impact of these businesses.

This funding opportunity provides financial support to organizations implementing strategies to prevent diabetes and improve health equity for populations at risk, focusing on statewide, local, or multisectoral approaches.

The Miami Downtown Development Authority (DDA) has launched the 2024-2025 Downtown Creative Collaborators Grants (DCCG) program. This program is designed to support projects and events that will take place in Downtown Miami during the fiscal year 2024-2025 (October 1, 2024 - September 30, 2025). The DDA's mission, as aligned with this grant, is to strengthen Downtown Miami's appeal as a global destination and stimulate demonstrable economic impact within the area through innovative projects and events. The DCCG program targets organizations producing and implementing activations in Downtown Miami. The goal is to benefit the Downtown community by fostering connections, attracting tourism, and providing affordable, family-friendly programming. The program also aims to promote Miami as an international and diverse cultural center, a culinary destination, and an innovation hub, while also highlighting its rich history, art, culture, and natural resources. Funding priorities for the DCCG include activating outdoor venues, creating community-building opportunities, offering family-friendly programming, promoting Miami as a global city, providing cultural and historic education, raising public transportation awareness, and offering free or discounted projects and events. The grant specifically encourages content that features the communities, history, and natural resources in Miami-Dade County. Priority will be given to projects that clearly and visibly state free or discounted admissions for area residents, families, and students in their marketing and promotional materials. Expected outcomes include a measurable economic impact in Downtown Miami, increased appeal of the area as a global destination, enhanced community engagement, and greater awareness and ridership of Downtown Miami's multimodal transportation options. By supporting diverse and innovative projects, the DDA aims to further establish Downtown Miami as a vibrant hub for arts, culture, entertainment, and innovation, contributing to the overall strategic development and economic growth of the city center. Grant awards can range from $5,000.00 up to $50,000.00, and applicants must secure additional funding commitments, as the DCCG cannot be the sole funding source.

This initiative supports U.S.-based startups with innovative solutions in Earth Observation for supply chains and Off-World Production, providing mentorship and resources to help them scale their space-based technologies.

This grant provides $25,000 to U.S.-based small businesses in the professional services sector to improve their operational flexibility and address challenges related to remote work and shipping efficiency.