Year round financial resources for MWBE

There are a number of free grants, financial assistance programs, and loans in MN that operate year round. Find details below by “category”, including by city/county/and parts of the state. There are also free grants and loans by month in Minnesota, as you continue to scroll down the page.

Statewide assistance programs for women and minority businesses

African Development Center, or ADC, helps Black businesses owners as well as immigrants. There are many assistance programs offered, ranging from loans to Crédit repair services for African American business owners start ups, free Entrepreneurial Training Programs, legal help, bookkeeping services, HR classes and more. Learn more on the non-profit ADC here. https://www.adcminnesota.org/services-programs/start-business

Asian-owned businesses in Minnesota can get help from the Chinese American Chamber of Commerce. Small business owners and entrepreneurs from any Asian owned businesses (not just Chinese) can get help. They offer SBA microloans, applications to free government grants when available, and Immigrant summit, Workforce solutions and so much more. They are based in Bloomington MN but cover Asian businesses statewide. More information here. https://mncbc.org/en/

Coalition for Asian American Leaders has programs for Asian Americans in Minnesota, with a focus on leaders, business owners, and non-profits. However the organization also helps others, no matter their background, but a focus is on Asian Americans. Learn more on CAAL https://caalmn.org/

The Entrepreneur Fund has locations across Minnesota, including in Duluth, Eveleth, Grand Rapids, Hibbing and Little Falls. They partner with entrepreneurs , with a focus on MWBE and disadvantaged businesses, to launch and/or grow a small business. There are loan programs, networking events, mentorship, business plan and website development help and other tools offered.  Learn details here. https://www.entrepreneurfund.org/

Metropolitan Economic Development Association (MEDA) has a number of free business services for Entrepreneurs of color. There is coaching, referrals to grants, help getting certification and other support. They focus on BIPOC owned businesses. Learn more here. https://meda.net/

Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development helps non-profits, if the non-profit assists disadvantaged businesses, across the state through loan programs as well as other support.  There will be low cost or zero percent loans offered. If the non-profit has a goal of supporting women, Black, Veteran, immigrant or a minority business, then DEED can provide financial help to that non-profit.  Learn more. https://mn.gov/deed/ed/

Red Letter Grant of Minnesota is a small non-profit agency that offers support to women owned businesses as well as entrepreneurs. There are a small number of grants as well as referrals to other financial resources. Women leaders in Minnesota also mentor business owners, offer guidance and free coaching, and other support. Get more details. https://www.redlettergrant.org/

Minneapolis St. Paul are loans and grant programs

Center for Economic Inclusion’s Vanguard Accelerator operates in St. Paul and Minneapolis.  The non-profit is part of minority and MWBE programs offered by Founders First CDC, Economic Inclusion, Chase Bank and NEOO Partners. They are all committed to help helping Black, Indigenous, Women and Latino owned businesses (and the community at large) get financial assistance, grants and support they need. Up to $25,000 in interest free forgivable loans are provided. Find details here. https://www.centerforeconomicinclusion.org/

Market Entry Fund provides microgrants to immigrant and diverse businesses in St. Paul Minnesota. They focus on food companies – restaurants, producers, shipping, and packing companies that lack access to capital, which is mostly those owned by people of color. Learn more here. https://marketentryfund.org/micro-grants

Minneapolis Foundation helps women, minority, veteran, and immigrant owned businesses throughout Minneapolis – St. Paul.  There will be various micro-grants such as the Main Street Program, counseling services, and overall economic development. Both non-profit organizations as well as private businesses can get assistance from the Foundation, and find more details on their services here. https://www.minneapolisfoundation.org/

Neighborhood Development Center of Minneapolis has many assistance programs. One of them is known as Black and Latina Opportunity Connect, or BLOC. It helps women-owned small businesses, including Latina and black women. There are grant programs, free training and mentoring to help grow the business and address challenges. There are incubators, certification and more. Continue reading here. https://www.ndc-mn.org/

Minneapolis-St. Paul Women Venture provides a number of services to female owned small businesses. There will be from time to time interest free micro-loans, which will be small dollar amount. The non-profit also offers assistance with businesses plan development, classes, training, networking, consultations and much more. There may also be low cost, larger dollar loans for more established businesses. Read more. https://www.womenventure.org/

St. Paul Minnesota Latino Economic Development Center offers a number of assistance programs to Latinos in the Twin Cities as well as business owners or entrepreneurs. Residents can get emergency financial aid for their bills. But the center also helps Latino business owners. They help Latino farmers, small business owners, and others. Get information on applying for loans, grants, CDFI lender programs and more.  They also give referrals to statewide business resources to Latinos. Read more. https://www.ledcmn.org/

St. Paul Center for Economic Inclusion is committed to help women owned businesses – Black and Latina. The St. Paul Minnesota non-profit partners with other agencies on the resources offered, including NEOO Partners Inc., Activate Network, and Fearless Commerce among others. There are a number of other assistance programs offered. Learn more here. https://www.centerforeconomicinclusion.org/

Women owned businesses in the Twin Cities region can get free training, support, and even loans from a non-profit known as WomenVentures. The help companies grow, or Scale Up. They also offer a tool kit of resources that female business owners can use, whether access to legal support, financial projections, and more. Learn more here. https://www.womenventure.org/index.html

Additional regions of MN for free grants or loans for businesses

Northland Foundation Small Business Development Center serves all of northeastern Minnesota. All of their services and assistance programs are free. Counselors can help people find free grants or low cost loans to apply for, including funds for veterans and MWBE businesses. They also offer guidance, legal tips such as whether a LLC or sole-proprietorship, help with business plan development and pro-formas and more. Continue reading. https://northlandsbdc.org/

Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation provides assistance to 20 different counties in southern and central MN. There are economic development programs for rural areas, small MWBE businesses, and farmers among others. Everything from grants to the Entrepreneurs First (E1) as well as Entrepreneurial Bridge Event, SCORE free mentoring services and more.  A wide variety of small business development programs, including financial aid, is offered. Learn more here. https://smifoundation.org/

By Jon McNamara