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.
Illinois Grocery Initiative: New Stores in Food Deserts
OpenIllinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity · State
Reimbursement of eligible capital and non-capital costs. Round 3.
Round 3 closes 9 December 2026.
Who qualifies
- Establishing a new grocery store in a designated food desert census tract
- Independently owned for-profit, cooperative or not-for-profit grocery operators
Who does not qualify
- Anything that is not a grocery store. This is a food access programme, not general small business funding
- Stores outside a designated food desert census tract
How to apply
- Confirm the site sits in a designated food desert census tract
- Apply through the DCEO grant portal before 9 December 2026
One of the few Illinois grants a business can apply for directly, with a real deadline in weeks rather than a vague rolling promise.
Illinois SBIR/STTR Match Program
OpenIllinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity · State
State matching funds against a federal SBIR or STTR award.
Open until 30 June 2027.
Who qualifies
- Illinois small businesses that already hold a federal SBIR or STTR award
- Research and development commercialisation projects
Who does not qualify
- Businesses without a federal SBIR or STTR award. The state matches a federal award, it does not originate one
- Non-R&D businesses
Only useful if you have already won federal SBIR or STTR money, which is a high bar and the reason this is rarely the answer for an ordinary small business.
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 The widely republished figures of $10,000 monthly and $25,000 annual are out of date.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.
Illinois Grocery Initiative: Equipment Upgrade
RollingIllinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity · State
Round 3. Covers purchase and installation of energy-efficient equipment.
Rolling.
Who qualifies
- Independently owned for-profit grocery stores
- Cooperative grocery stores
- Not-for-profit grocery stores
Who does not qualify
- Any business that is not a grocery store
- Chain-owned stores, as the programme targets independent, cooperative and not-for-profit operators
Rolling and open, which makes it one of the more realistic Illinois options if you run a grocery store.
Illinois Small Business Capital and Infrastructure Grant
ClosedIllinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, Office of Equity · State
Closed since April 2025. DCEO states there are no plans for future funding.
What it funds
- Infrastructure improvements
- Equipment acquisition
- Property purchase
- Energy efficiency upgrades
- Compliance and accessibility improvements
Who qualifies
- When it ran: businesses owned by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, and very small businesses
Who does not qualify
- Everyone, currently. Applications closed in April 2025 and DCEO has announced no further rounds
DCEO is unusually direct about this one: closed, and no plans for future funding. Worth taking at face value rather than waiting for a round that is not coming.
