Year found financial assistance, grants, loans, and free coaching in NJ

Find details on financial assistance programs, coaching services and other support that are offered all year in NJ. Get details below by “category”, including by city/county/geography. There are also more free grants, charitable programs and interest free loans that are released by month, and scroll down this page to find more information.

Programs available across New Jersey for all MWBE and veteran companies

Four different non-profits offer ongoing, year round help the disadvantaged businesses. They include the following. Grameen America helps low income, minority women small business owners and entrepreneurs. Black, Asian, and Latino women can get microloans, credit building help, and business training. Greater Newark Enterprises Corporation (phone (973) 242-4132) gives loans of up to $100,000 to minority owned businesses that are small to mid-sized. Black Business Enterprise Capital Program gives low cost loans, call  (609) 571-1620. Rising Tide Capital (telephone 201-432-4316) is based in Jersey City. They help businesses from low income communities, including women and minority owned. Business training and management classes as well as loans or grants are offered in cities including Camden, Newark, Jersey City and others.

African American chamber of Commerce of New Jersey offers a number of small business services, including interest free, 0% APR Kiva loans as the chamber is a Trustee. Start ups and small businesses of color, even if they have poor or no credit, can get financial aid. Or get help with marketing, technical help, attend networking events and more. Find what the Chamber does here. http://www.aaccnj.com/

Black and Latino Angel Investment Fund of New Jersey is aimed at helping high growth start-up companies of people of color. They connect them with Angel Investors and/or grant programs for capital. They also connect them with business leaders and other in the community who can help a small business succeed. The Investment Fund is part of the Center for Urban Entrepreneurship and Economic Development (CUEED) at Rutgers. Learn more here. https://www.blackandlatinoangelfund.com/

Grameen America, a non-profit that helps women, is providing microloans to female entrepreneurs and small business owners. The non-profit has offices in Newark, Trenton-Camden and Union City NJ. Females, immigrants, black women owned business owners, Latinas and others, who live in or near poverty, can get the loans, counseling, coaching, and other free business services. Read more here on the offices in New Jersey. https://www.grameenamerica.org/blog/2021/8/2/grameen-america-opens-new-branch-in-new-jersey-serving-women-in-trenton-and-camden

The Hispanic Entrepreneurship Training Program (HETP), from the Chamber of Commerce, provides free Entrepreneurship classes, information on raising money from grants or loans, mentorship and other services to the NJ Hispanic Community. Get details here. https://shccnj.org/hetp/

Institute for Entrepreneurial Leadership (IFEL) helps entrepreneurs and small businesses in New Jersey. Among the programs are interest free microloans, as the non-profit works with Kiva on this. In addition to capital, there are resources for registering a business, hackathons around growing a company, As well as programs such as Black Angels Entrepreneur Showcase and Small Businesses Loan Fund for women or minorities there is mentoring and coaching services. Learn more on IFEL funds here. https://www.weareifel.org/for-entrepreneurs

New Jersey Business Action Center helps small businesses, charities and individuals in NJ. The government agency serves as an intake and referral center. Specialists, counselors, and advisors refer clients to free grant programs, counseling, economic development and more. There is also information on programs for non-profits as well as export oriented businesses in NJ, including financing and 0% loans. Learn more here. https://nj.gov/state/bac/business.shtml

New Jersey Economic Development Authority is partnering with CDFIs to provide loans, grant money, advice and more to small disadvantaged businesses. The money will go to MWBE, veteran, migrants and business owners with bad credit. The funds are part of the Capital Access Fund. Get details here. https://www.njeda.gov/smallbusinessservices/

Small Business Fund is available across NJ, and it gives financial help to women and/or minority owned businesses that have some form of credit history. The financial assistance is offered by the Economic Development Agency. There are fixed interest rate, or 0% loans, offered. Or get grant money for non-profits or other for-profit companies can apply for funds. Read more on the New Jersey Small Business Fund here.  https://www.njeda.com/smallbusinessfund/

Women’s Center for Entrepreneurship is based in Chatham. The non-profit helps women start a business or grow an existing company. Several assistance programs are offered and include free coaching, workshops on growing a company, business valuation, free e-commerce counseling and advice for applying for loans or startup funds. Other resources are offered too. Read more on the non-profit. https://www.wcecnj.org/

Camden area grants, loans, and financial help

Camden area businesses, any in reality any minority owned business across NJ, can get help from the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) office. A non-profit known as the Enterprise Center has opened an office in Camden. Businesses owned by people of color can access a wide range of assistance programs, ranging from information on how to get capital or government grants to sales and marketing advice, networking opportunities, business coaching and more.  Find details here. https://www.mbda.gov/business-center/new-jersey-mbda-business-center

Camden Food Fund provides low-cost, or interest free loans, to disadvantaged food businesses. A focus is on people of color, women, and vets. This can also help owners with bad credit scores. The loans are offered in partnership with the Community Foundation of South Jersey. Apply here. https://www.camdenfoodfund.org/

Camden, Atlantic, Burlington, Cumberland and Gloucester county businesses and entrepreneurs can get a wide range of financial help and other services from the Latin American Economic Development Association, LAEDA. The non-profit operates a women business center, has information on grants and raising capital, licensing and business plan development services, starting a company and more. A major focus is on women, minority, Hispanic, and disadvantaged businesses. Learn about the non-profit here. http://www.laeda.com/

Cooperative Business Assistance Corporation provides a number of assistance programs to small businesses in southern NJ.  There are microloans, referrals to free grant programs, coaching programs for BIPOC and other start ups, and more.  They are a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) that works with other government and non-profit agencies. Read more on the microlender known as CBAC here. https://www.cbaclenders.com/

Newark and Essex County free coaching, mentoring and grant money

Elizabeth Development Company is a one-stop location for small businesses, start ups and people look for work. They help arrange financial assistance, grants, tax relief and other support for both individuals and businesses, with a focus on immigrants, BIPOC and others.  Apply here. https://www.elizabethnj.org/268/Elizabeth-Development-Company

Invest Newark offers a wide range of small business programs, classes, and workshops, with most resources in Spanish too. they help women, minority, and veteran owned companies (as well as immigrants) apply for capital from grants and loans.  There is a Language of Capital program, workshops with local banks and lenders and other resources from the non-profit.  Read more here. https://investnewark.org/

La Casa de Don Pedro helps Hispanic entrepreneurs start and grow successful businesses and they also support small businesses. There are low cost or interest free micro-loans, one-on-one coaching, networking opportunities, Capital raising programs and other support. The goal is to help immigrants, Latinios and people of color gain stability with a business. Learn more http://www.lacasanwk.org/

Rutgers Business School’s Center for Urban Entrepreneurship and Economic Development operates the Black and Latino Technology Angel Investment Fund of New Jersey. This is a free grant program that help disadvantaged businesses with financial aid, free counseling, workshops and more. The Fund is meant to help entrepreneurs as well as allow Black, Latino, and minority small businesses launch or grow in inner cities in New Jersey – Urban Revitalization. Hundreds of minority businesses have received funds, free grants, networking opportunities, as well as technical help from the program, also known as The Black and Latino Technology Initiative. Find more assistance programs available https://www.business.rutgers.edu/cueed

Urban League of Essex County helps women, minority and disadvantaged owned businesses. They also help arrange small business financing (small dollar loans) with the Newark CDFI. A number of business services are offered in the Newark region. Network, enroll into website or social media workshops, technology classes, receive free coaching as well as technical help and more. A major focus is on helping Black Americans and low income families. Get details on the non-profit here. https://ulec.org/

By Jon McNamara