Every programme in detail
Read the exclusions before the eligibility. It is faster to find out you are ruled out than to find out you qualify.
Amber Grant for Women
RollingWomensNet · Private
Three $15,000 grants every month, plus three $75,000 year-end grants.
Monthly. Applications close on the last day of every month, and winners are announced by the 21st of the following month.
Who qualifies
- Woman-owned business
- One application enters you for both the monthly grant and the year-end grant
Who does not qualify
- Businesses that are not majority women-owned
How to apply
- Apply online before the month-end deadline
- Describe the business and what the money would do
Not Georgia-specific; open across the US and listed here because Georgia applicants qualify. The widely republished figures of $10,000 monthly and $25,000 annual are out of date. As of 27 October 2026 it is $15,000 and $75,000.
California Jump Start Loan Program
RollingCalifornia Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank (IBank), through CDFIs · State
Rolling, through a participating CDFI.
Who qualifies
- Very small California businesses in low-wealth communities
- Borrowers who also take the financial literacy training offered alongside
Who does not qualify
- Anyone looking for a grant. This is a microloan and it is repaid
- Larger businesses, as the ceiling is $10,000
Small, but genuinely open, which is more than can be said for California's grant programmes right now.
IBank Small Business Loan Guarantee
RollingCalifornia Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank (IBank) · State
Loan guarantees up to $5 million. IBank guarantees the lender rather than lending to you.
Rolling, through a participating lender and a Financial Development Corporation.
Who qualifies
- California small businesses that cannot obtain finance without a guarantee
- You must be working with a participating lender
Who does not qualify
- Anyone looking for a grant. A guarantee is not money to you; it is security for your lender, and you still repay the loan
With no active state grants, this and the microloan below are what California actually offers small businesses today.
California Microbusiness COVID-19 Relief Grant
ClosedCalifornia Office of the Small Business Advocate (CalOSBA), delivered by counties · State
$30,170,000 distributed across 12,068 awards before closing.
Closed. Listed by CalOSBA among concluded programmes.
Who qualifies
- When it ran: California microbusinesses affected by the pandemic, applying through their county
Who does not qualify
- Everyone, currently. The programme has concluded
Ran county by county, which is why some county pages still carry application instructions for a programme the state has closed.
California Small Business COVID-19 Relief Grant
ClosedCalifornia Office of the Small Business Advocate (CalOSBA) · State
$3,792,105,434 distributed across 330,023 awards before closing.
Closed. Listed by CalOSBA among concluded programmes.
Who qualifies
- When it ran: California small businesses whose trading was affected by the pandemic
Who does not qualify
- Everyone, currently. The programme has concluded
The largest state small business grant programme in the country at the time, at nearly $3.8 billion. Its scale is why it still dominates search results years after closing.
California Dream Fund
ClosedCalifornia Office of the Small Business Advocate (CalOSBA) · State
$30,770,000 distributed across 4,669 awards before closing.
Closed. CalOSBA lists it among its concluded programmes.
Who qualifies
- When it ran: underserved small business groups facing capital access gaps, via the state's technical assistance network
Who does not qualify
- Everyone, currently. CalOSBA states it has no active direct-to-business grant programmes
One of the most frequently republished "California small business grants" and it has been closed for some time. The microgrant was real; the listings are not.
