Grants for Small Businesses

Community & Economic Development · Amount varies

The Keystone Special Development Zone Tax Credit provides Pennsylvania tax credit incentives to for-profit businesses that locate and operate within designated geographic zones containing abandoned or deteriorated industrial and commercial sites. Only for-profit businesses within these specific zones qualify; nonprofits and businesses elsewhere are not eligible. No award amount is specified since this is a tax credit rather than a grant.

Community & Economic Development · Amount varies

The Qualified Manufacturing Innovation and Reinvestment Deduction is a Pennsylvania tax deduction, not a grant — it reduces state tax liability for employers investing in manufacturing operations. Eligibility is limited to businesses that are employers, not nonprofits or individuals. No award/deduction amount is specified.

Community & Economic Development · Amount varies

The PA SITES Construction Loan component provides gap financing grants and loans for strategic site development projects in Pennsylvania, aimed at reducing costs and risk for businesses relocating or expanding in the state. Eligible applicants include municipalities, economic development organizations, redevelopment or municipal authorities, industrial development agencies, and for-profit businesses. No maximum award amount is specified, and general nonprofits or individuals do not qualify.

Community & Economic Development · Amount varies

The Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit gives Pennsylvania-authorized businesses a state tax credit for contributions to Opportunity Scholarship Organizations, which then fund tuition scholarships for students in low-achieving school districts. Only businesses can apply (not individuals or nonprofits directly), and applications follow specific windows tied to prior commitment status. No award dollar cap is specified for the credit itself.

Community & Economic Development · Amount varies

This Pennsylvania program funds environmental site assessment and cleanup of former industrial sites through a mix of grants and low-interest loans. Eligible applicants include public entities, private nonprofit economic development organizations, and companies reusing former industrial land, but only if they did not cause or contribute to the contamination. No maximum award is listed.

Community & Economic Development · Amount varies

The Pennsylvania First Grant is a broad economic development funding tool supporting job creation and business investment, open to businesses, corporations, partnerships, sole proprietorships, LLCs, nonprofit entities, and a wide range of municipalities and local development authorities. Eligibility spans both for-profit and nonprofit organizations as well as many types of local government, making this one of the broader-eligibility programs in this set. No specific award amount is listed.

Community & Economic Development · Amount varies

Eligibility is limited to businesses that commit to creating and retaining full-time jobs, and to organizations developing industrial parks or multi-tenant facilities. This is a loan and line-of-credit program, not a grant, and applications must be packaged and underwritten through a certified economic development organization (CEDO) rather than submitted directly by the applicant. No specific loan amount or deadline is listed.

Community & Economic Development · Amount varies

The Pipeline Investment Program funds construction of the final stretch of natural gas distribution lines connecting business parks and existing manufacturing or industrial sites in Pennsylvania to gas service. Eligible applicants include economic development organizations, businesses, municipalities, hospitals, and school districts. No award amount is specified, and the program is narrowly scoped to natural gas infrastructure projects.

Community & Economic Development · Amount varies

The PA SITES Planning Grant funds feasibility studies and site plans to prepare Pennsylvania properties for future business development or redevelopment. Eligible applicants are municipalities, economic development organizations, redevelopment or municipal authorities, industrial development agencies, and for-profit businesses. No specific award amount is listed, and eligibility excludes general nonprofits and individuals outside these categories.

Community & Economic Development · Amount varies

This is a loan program, not a grant, for farm businesses purchasing land, machinery, or equipment; it uses federal tax-exempt financing to lower the borrower's interest rate. It does not apply to nonprofits or non-agricultural businesses. No loan cap or deadline is provided.

Community & Economic Development · Amount varies

The Keystone Opportunity Zones program offers Pennsylvania state and local tax abatements, not cash grants, to businesses and residents that locate within specially designated zones. Eligibility is tied entirely to physical location inside a KOZ rather than organization type, so businesses or individuals outside these zones do not qualify. No award amount is specified since the benefit is a tax reduction rather than a fixed grant.

Community & Economic Development · Up to $500K

The Private Dam Financial Assurance Program helps owners of regulated private dams in Pennsylvania meet state-required proof of financial responsibility, with a maximum benefit of $500,000, and separately offers low-interest loans once program funds reach $1,500,000. Eligible applicants include individuals, partnerships, associations, common interest communities, community associations, and corporations that own a regulated private dam; this is a narrow, asset-specific program rather than general grant funding.

Community & Economic Development · Amount varies

The PEDFA Tax Exempt Bond Program gives Pennsylvania businesses and 501(c)(3) nonprofits access to low-interest financing through tax-exempt bonds or notes, targeted at manufacturing, solid waste disposal, wastewater treatment, transportation facilities, and assisted living/housing projects. This is debt financing rather than a grant, and eligibility is limited to these specific project types and organization categories. No award amount is specified.

Community & Economic Development · Up to $250K

The Pennsylvania Minority Business Development Authority program provides low-interest loans, not grants, of up to $250,000 to businesses owned and operated by ethnic minorities, with the specific exclusion of non-franchised restaurants. This is a loan program rather than free grant funding, and eligibility is narrowly limited to minority-owned businesses meeting the program's criteria.

Community & Economic Development · Amount varies

The Ben Franklin Partners Challenge Grant supports entrepreneurs, start-ups, early-stage companies, investors, higher education institutions, and past Ben Franklin Technology Partners (BFTP) alumni companies working on new technology, including clean energy generation, conservation, and transportation. Funding is channeled through Pennsylvania's four regional Ben Franklin Technology Partners for capital access, business expertise, and technology commercialization support. No specific award amount is listed, and eligibility favors technology-focused ventures with an existing BFTP connection.

Community & Economic Development · Amount varies

Despite the name, Pennsylvania First is a loan program, not a grant — it funds investment and job-creation projects for businesses, municipalities, authorities, and other legal entities across the Commonwealth. Eligibility is broad, spanning corporations, partnerships, LLCs, nonprofits, and various local government bodies. No award/loan amount is specified, and financing here must be repaid rather than being free funding.

Community & Economic Development · Amount varies

The Educational Improvement Tax Credit gives Pennsylvania businesses a state tax credit for contributions to approved Scholarship Organizations, Educational Improvement Organizations, or Pre-Kindergarten Scholarship Organizations. Only eligible businesses can apply (not individuals or nonprofits directly), and applications follow specific windows tied to prior commitment status. No award dollar cap is specified for the credit itself.

Air Force -- Research Lab · Amount varies

The Air Force Research Lab's CHEERS announcement funds science and technology work in human performance and aerospace medicine, spanning basic research through technology maturation, via multiple open solicitations accepting white papers. Eligibility is generally broad, but note specific constraints: Federally Funded Research and Development Centers face restrictions and must obtain sponsor and AFRL determinations, foreign-owned firms should contact the Contracting Officer first as restrictions may apply, and the Commercial Solutions Opening track is not grant-eligible. No award amounts are stated; review the paired solicitations for scope and instructions.

Office to Monitor-Combat Trafficking in Persons · Amount varies

This is a Notice of Intent for the State Department's Program to End Modern Slavery (FY 2025); the TIP Office is NOT accepting applications at this time. When it opens, eligibility is expected to be broad, covering commercial, international, educational, and non-profit organizations, including faith-based, community-based, and public international organizations. A valid Unique Entity Identifier will be required for any organization selected for an award. No award amounts are listed in this notice.

Office to Monitor-Combat Trafficking in Persons · Amount varies

This is a Notice of Intent for the State Department's Program to End Modern Slavery (FY 2023); the TIP Office is NOT accepting applications at this time. When opened, eligibility is expected to be broad, including commercial, international, educational, and non-profit organizations, plus faith-based, community-based, and public international organizations. A valid Unique Entity Identifier is required for any organization selected for an award. No award amounts are listed in this notice.