Small Business Grants for Veterans

The Melissa Washington Small Business Award (MWSBA) is an annual award. The award will be up to $5,000 and will be up to the discretion of the awards committee and Women Veterans Giving Board of Directors.

Application Period
May 1 – July 31, 2026

Three finalists will be announced the week of September 1, 2026, and the award presentation will take place during the VIB Network National Conference on November 2 – 3, 2026, in Palm Springs, California.

The Restaurants Care Resilience Fund is offering $5,000 grants to independent California restaurants, commercial caterers, and food trucks to help them invest in kitchen equipment, technology upgrades, employee training, or unforeseen hardships. To be eligible, businesses must be a commercial customer of PG&E or SoCalGas, have 1–5 locations with an annual revenue under $3M, and have been open for at least one full year (or recently expanded to a brick-and-mortar location).

The Big Idea Grant was born from a passion to support and uplift women entrepreneurs who are eager to turn their dreams into thriving businesses. From its inception, the goal has been to provide not just financial resources but also mentorship and guidance, empowering women to achieve success.

• Each month, one recipient is awarded $1,000 to invest in their business, along with exclusive access to a wealth mindset coaching group to support their growth.
• Tailored for passionate women, by women, to help turn their ideas into successful ventures.

To complement the hundreds of free resources available through Verizon Small Business Digital Ready, Verizon, in partnership with LISC, is awarding $5,000 grants to 25 small businesses based in California to help them sustain and grow their businesses. The grant will be awarded directly to selected business owners and does not need to be repaid.

The award was created in honor of Mother’s Day and Founder’s First CEO Kim Folsom‘s mother, Catherine “Kitty” Abrams Tadlock Webster, who passed away in March of 2020.

The Kitty Fund makes small micro investments in Moms who are running employer-based small businesses with two or more employees.

This program supports underrepresented businesses by combining grant funding with financial readiness resources to help them scale and compete for more contracts. Program benefits include:

• $5,000 grant: Eligible businesses are entered into a grant pool with multiple opportunities to receive an unrestricted $5,000 grant.
• Funding readiness training: A short assessment and on-demand modules that help businesses understand what funders look for.
• Funder matchmaking: Connections to lenders and capital partners aligned with each business’s growth stage and goals.

WomensNet founded the “Amber Grant” in 1998. The grant was set up with one goal in mind: to honor the memory of a very special young woman, Amber Wigdahl, who died at just 19 years old — before realizing her business dreams.

Today, WomensNet carries on that tradition, proudly giving away at least $30,000 every month in Amber Grant money. In recognition of the diversity of businesses owned by women, we’ve also expanded our grant-giving to include “Startup Grants,” “Business Category Grants,” as well as three “$25,000 Year End Grants.”

The LGBTQIA+ National Grant provides eligible small businesses the chance to receive one of 25 grant packages totaling $25,000. Founders First is committed to increasing the number of diverse founder-led businesses generating over $1 million dollars in revenues.

digitalundivided’s BREAKTHROUGH Program, sponsored by JPMorgan Chase & Co, provides founders with a deeper understanding of their customers, startup funding, growth marketing strategies, and networking opportunities to scale their ventures. Each company accepted into the program will receive a $5,000 grant*!