Free grant programs as well as interest free (or low cost loans) help minority, veteran, and women owned businesses in Texas. There are resources for start up companies, entrepreneurs as well as small to medium sized businesses. Each lender, agency, non-profit or government program is allocating some of the grants, loans, or assistance programs to both minorities as well as women owned companies. Find free MWBE grants or loans in Texas.
There will be funds to help minority and women owned businesses either create or retain jobs or pay for approved business expenses. In addition to the loans as well as free grants, many of the agencies give other support. This may include free mentoring, advice on creating online businesses, sales help, free legal aid, and information on other local (or national) business development programs.
While most of the financial aid and counseling is for minority (Black, Latino, Asian, LGBTQ, etc.), veteran or women owned businesses in Texas, there is also help for businesses regardless of race or gender. Whether in Dallas, Houston, El Paso, San Antonio, or another city or town in Texas, support is available in the form of loans or grants.
Find minority and women grants or loans in Texas
The list of resources below is updated daily. It includes loans, grants, workshops, free counseling and more from non-profits, government agencies, banks, as well as corporations in Texas. Whether financial help to start or grow a business, or free business advice, assistance is offered to MWBE as well as BIPOC businesses. Find more details on applying below.
March and April 2025
Northern Texas non-profits can apply for grant money from the NBC-Universal Local Impact Grant program. The money is offered to certain non-profits that are involved in story telling, culture, diversity and other related topics and get more details here on the grants in Northern TX https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/national-international/nbcu-local-impact-grants-learn-more/2868352/
January and February 2025
Austin small businesses can apply to the UPS Store Small Biz Challenge. Up to $35,000 will be provided. There is mentoring as well as financial help given to those that qualify, based upon a formal submission. Get details here. https://www.theupsstore.com/smallbizchallenge
Trinity Valley Community College and the Skills for Small Business grant program is an option. The Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) is processing applications, and the grant money will help small businesses pay for training. A couple thousand dollars (at most) will be provided to each qualified small businesses, and get details here. https://www.twc.texas.gov/programs/skills-small-business
The Jane Nelson Institute for Women’s Leadership and their Center for Women Entrepreneurs is providing grants of up to $5,000 to women owned small businesses and/or Entrepreneurs. The free money will also come with legal support, marketing help, IT support and so much more, and apply now https://twu.edu/center-women-entrepreneurs/veteran-woman-grant/
October 2024 and November 2024
City of Laredo Economic Development Department is helping businesses with an outdoor presence “beatify” their establishment. Signage, exterior appearances and other help can be made from the Small Business Outdoor Spaces Grant Program. Up to $20,000 will be provided to both non-profits and for profit businesses, with applications in Spanish too. More details here. https://laredooutdoorimprovementgrant.com/
San Antonio Economic Development Corporation (SAEDC) and LiftFund are providing interest free loans to small businesses in the city. A major focus is on disadvantaged businesses, which tend to be vet, women, and minority owned. Applications for the 0% APR loans are in Spanish too, and apply here https://www.liftfund.com/locations/san-antonio/or learn more here. https://www.sanantonio.gov/EDD
The Texas Micro-Business Disaster Recovery (MBDR) Loan Program, which runs until 2025 as funding allows, will help small businesses that have been impacted by a disaster recover. Low-cost or interest free loans are provided by the government to qualified businesses and get application details here. https://gov.texas.gov/business/page/texas-micro-business-disaster-recovery-program
Harris County Opportunity Fund is providing low-cost, maybe interest free loans, to small businesses that historically lack access to capital. This includes minorities, Latino, women and others, including those business owners with bad credit in the Houston TX area. The Department of Economic Equity & Opportunity as well as Peoplefund offers microloans, funds and more. Apply here. https://peoplefund.org/
August and September 2024
TWU’s Center for Women Entrepreneurs is providing another round of grants from StartHer. The money is available across Texas – regardless of the city or county. Financial help is for women entrepreneurs or small businesses. The money can help a business pay for tech equipment, inventory, improvements to a physical locations and more. Get details https://twu.edu/center-women-entrepreneurs/starther/
Beryl Relief Loan Program, a partnership of Wells Fargo and San Antonio LiftFund is providing interest free loans. There are also deferral agreements and up to $35,000 provided to a small business, with a focus on MWBE companies, vets and others. They can apply here. Other support is arranged too. https://www.liftfund.com/Beryl-Relief-Loan/
July 2024
Galaxy of Stars is providing one small business grant in the Austin TX community. The program is part of the non-profit Hidden Start, with the money (as much as $4,250) aimed at helping minority owned businesses. Learn more here. https://galaxyofstars.org/
Dallas Black Chamber of Commerce is providing free grant money to MWBE owned small businesses in the city and county. The assistance program is run in partnership with Office Depot. Applications are taken at the Elevate Together site, and apply here. https://elevatetogether.org/dbcc-small-business-grant/
June 2024
The San Antonio Small Business Construction Support grant is for those impacted by construction on Broadway. Applicants need to have a physical presence in the area and have been negatively impacted by the ongoing construction. Apply here. https://cosaconstructiongrant2024.com/
Texas Woman’s University and the Center for Women Entrepreneurs is providing 10 grants to rural owned businesses in TX. It is $5,000 per qualified applicant and the program is known as the Texas Rural Woman Grant. All applicants need to be women, but can be those of color, immigrants, veteran women and others. Get details here on the rural grants. https://twu.edu/center-women-entrepreneurs/texas-rural-woman-grant/
March and April 2024
San Antonio Business Grant Program and Neighborhood and Community Grants provides up to $20,000 for energy efficiency, sustainability projects. It can pay for solar panels, HVACs, and community projects. Funds are for charities, minority or veteran own businesses, and anyone seeking community sustainability funds. Learn more on the Bexar County grants. https://sasustainability.com/category/community-action-fund
Houston Fund for Social Justice and Economic Equity is providing free $5,000 to $100,000 grants in partnership with Wells Fargo. The money is for non-profit or for-profit businesses, with the grant to be used to purchase assets such as computers, office furniture, servers and other physical goods (assets). Learn more here. https://houstonequityfund.org/
February 2024
Veteran Woman Entrepreneur Grant program will help small businesses and entrepreneurs. Texas Woman’s University and the Center for Women Entrepreneurs (CWE) at the college are processing applications. Each qualified, selected female veteran will get up to $5,000 for their business or start up as well as other support. Apply here https://twu.edu/center-women-entrepreneurs/veteran-woman-grant/
November and December 2023
San Marcos Minority Business Stabilization Fund is a free grant program for minority small business owners, start ups and entrepreneurs. From $1,000 to $10,000 will be provides to help with payroll costs, marketing, rent, and other business expenses. The funds are for small businesses only. Apply here. https://www.sanmarcostx.gov/4163/Minority-Business-Stabilization-Fund
October and November 2023
Texas Women for the Arts has a grant program for non-profits around the arts, cultural, music and similar goals. Charities and religious groups can apply too, including those owned by immigrants, women or people of color. The goal of the free grants is to improve public arts in Texas, and apply here. https://dallasinnovates.com/texas-women-for-the-arts-opens-applications-for-2024-arts-education-grants/
September 2023
Texas Woman’s University Center for Women Entrepreneurs is providing dozens of $5,000 grants as part of StartHER. The money is for women owned businesses / Entrepreneurs . The funds will help pay for inventory, technology such as computers and other bills. Apply here. https://twu.edu/center-women-entrepreneurs/starther/
May 2023 and June 2023
Houston businesses can apply for free grants, advertising, tech help and marketing from Comcast. The RISE program (Representation, Investment, Strength and Empowerment combines financial help with additional support services. Women, minority and other small businesses are a focus. Apply here for Comcast grants in Houston TX. https://texas.comcast.com/comcastrise/
Houston minority owned businesses as well as non-profits can apply for free grants (even up to 100K) from the Open for Business program, which is run by the Houston Fund for Social Justice and Economic Equity as well as Wells Fargo bank. Applicants need to have been operating for a couple years, be majority minority owned, and meet other conditions. Learn more here. https://houstonequityfund.org/wells-fargo-open-for-business-grant-opportunity-english/
Existing women owned businesses in Rural Texas can apply for $10,000 grants. The financial assistance is offered by Texas Woman’s University, The Center for Women Entrepreneurs (CWE) as well as the Jane Nelson Institute for Women’s Leadership. The funds are for small women owned businesses in rural counties only. Apply here for the free grants. https://twu.edu/center-women-entrepreneurs/texas-rural-woman-grant/
Harlingen area businesses can apply for loans, including interest free. The Harlingen Economic Development Corporation and the PeopleFund are partnering together to help small businesses get capital. Some funds will go towards minorities and businesses owners with lower credit scores. Learn more on the non-profit here. https://harlingenedc.com/
March 2023 and April 2023
Dallas Predevelopment loans are for MWBE and veteran owned businesses in the city. the funds will pay for businesses that are working on developing a physical location, and the loan can pay for environment studies, engineering needs, zoning issues and related costs. In general, the funds will help disadvantaged businesses in Dallas, that lack credit or funds, get a loan to build or expand. Get details here. https://www.dallasecodev.org/630/Predevelopment-Assistance
Texas Woman’s University is providing free grants to female owned veteran businesses. The program is available across TX. Up to $5,000 will be provided to as many as 25 veteran owned businesses in the state – all of which need to be run by women. There is financial help, mentoring and free advice from other veteran owned businesses in TX, as well as ongoing, long term assistance. The program is run in partnership with non-profits, the government and other agencies. Get details here. https://twu.edu/center-women-entrepreneurs/veteran-woman-grant/
September and October 2022
Northern TX based female entrepreneurs or existing business owners can apply for free $5,000 grants from the TXU StartHER assistance program. Applicants need to be at least 51% owned (or controlled) by a woman. There will be a couple dozen grants given (each of 5K) and recipients can get other support from the Women’s Business Center at TXU. A wide range of programs are offered, and apply here. https://twu.edu/center-women-entrepreneurs/starther/
July and August 2022
Tarrant County women owned businesses (or female entrepreneurs) can apply to the Texas Woman’s University Center for Women Entrepreneurs & Stoke Incubator Program. Several local businesses will be chosen and they will receive free mentoring, help raising money, networking and marketing assistance and so much more. Learn more on the incubator program here. https://stokedenton.com/accelerateher-incubator-program
City of San Antonio COVID Impact Grants Program is available to help small businesses that were impacted by COVID. The money is part of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars. Partners include Southside First Economic Development Council, Centro San Antonio, as well as LiftFund Women’s Business Center as well as other charities. The money will help businesses that were impacted by COVID, and each applicant can be given as much as $35,000 in government grant money. There are multiple criteria that need to be met, and apply here. https://cityofsanantoniocovidgrants.com/
Houston Fund for Social Justice and Economic Equity is partnership with Wells Fargo. Applications are being take for grants of as much as $65,000. Most of the financial assistance will be to underserved and/or low-income parts of Houston, including to Black and brown regions. Small businesses can apply to the multi year program, and the free grants can pay for property, capital improvements and other expenses. Apply here https://www.houstonequityfund.com/
Tarrant County is providing free grants of up to $27,500. The financial help is part of the Small Business Workforce Recovery Grant program, which will help small to mid sized businesses recover from the COVID pandemic. Some funds will be given to veteran, women or minority owned businesses in Tarrant County. The funds can help businesses hire, train, or recruit employees. The grant programs also helps with other workforce development services. Apply here. https://www.tarrantcounty.com/recovery
Small, women owned businesses, including Black women and Hispanic, can get free grants. Up to $7500 will be given. The program is offered between The Beacon State Fund and the Governor’s Commission for Women, and applicants need to pitch their existing small business in order to “win” the grant money. There will be funds given out across the state of TX. Apply here. https://gov.texas.gov/organization/women/pitch-competition
The Lubbock Businesses Bounce Back is a free grant program for businesses in the city (not the entire county). The government, using American Rescue Act Funds, is providing financial help to small companies, with a focus on MWBE, veteran, and immigrant owned companies. The free grants will help with expenses including rent, payroll, inventory, marketing and more. The Bounce Back program is run in partnership with Caprock Business Finance Corp, and apply here. http://caprock504.org/caprock-application/
April, May and June 2022
Female Veterans in Texas can get $5,000 grants from the Veteran Woman Entrepreneur Grant program. Texas Woman’s University has an agency known as the Center for Women Entrepreneurs, or CWE, and the center is processing applications and providing funds. The funds can be used to pay inventory, pay for marketing costs, machinery, real estate and more. The free grants for veteran women is aimed at improvements, equipment, inventory and the like – not salaries. Read more and apply here. https://twu.edu/center-women-entrepreneurs/veteran-woman-grant/
March 2022
Houston Chamber of Commerce is offering a free mentoring program to dozens of Black owned businesses in the city. Applications are needed and only selected businesses will qualify. They can get help with applying for grants or loans, marketing assistance, free mentoring, website development and more. The service is multi-faceted in an effort to help small Black owned businesses. Learn more. https://www.houstontx.gov/ecodev/chambers_of_commerce.html
January 2021 and February 2022
Texas Woman’s University’s Center for Women Entrepreneurs (CWE) is providing a multiple grants worth up to $25,000 (in aggregate), female owned, existing small business in Texas. Applicants need to have less than 20 employees. The financial aid is part of the AdvanceHER Grant Program. A major focus is on supporting IT companies, medical or life science, “green” businesses and, in general, STEM type companies. The grants are combined with training, workshops, networking and other support. Women owned small businesses in Texas can apply here. https://twu.edu/center-women-entrepreneurs/advanceher-grant/
Fort Worth Texas/Tarrant County female entrepreneurs can apply for $1,000 grants from a partnership between TechFW as well as Satori Capital. the free grants are part of an incubator program, in which not only will funds be provided but a number of other free resources are arranged for women owned businesses. The financial assistance from Tech Fort Worth is for more “unique”, innovate businesses that have different technology, services and proprietary services to offer the community. Read about the program here. https://www.techfortworth.org/
October and November 2021
Women owned restaurants in Texas can apply for free $2500 grants. Almost 100 different restaurants, cafes, or “eateries” will be funded from the Texas Restaurant Association as well as the Texas Conference for Women, who are both providing the funds for this grant program. A major focus is on helping restaurant establishments recover from any revenue hit or business slow down from COVID. Apply here. https://fs24.formsite.com/wsaaritramailorg/gh9ssyxbdo/index.html?mc_cid=675e8364b1&mc_eid=c681726033
September and October 2021
StartHER grants is for women-owned businesses in Texas. As many as 25 businesses across the state will be given up to $5,000. Applications for this financial aid program are being accepted by Texas Woman’s University’s Center for Women Entrepreneurs. Funds can pay for a variety of bills, including inventory, equipment, marketing costs, payroll and more. Apply here. https://twu.edu/center-women-entrepreneurs/
Austin and Dallas BIPOC businesses can apply to the PeopleFund. An accelerator program will offer everything from grants to mentoring, technical help, training, accounting, and other support. The Fund is working with other local companies, including Southern Dallas Progress CDC, on the assistance program. The assistance is for “early-stage” companies, in particular start-ups. Apply here. https://peoplefund.org/bipoc-business-accelerator/
August 2021 and September 2021
Waco area businesses can apply for free government grants of up to $5,000. The city council, using federal government money, operates the Small Business Emergency Recovery Fund. The funds are used to help businesses recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. A priority is on women, veteran, as well as minority owned enterprises, but any small business can apply. Get more details here. https://covidwaco.com/small-business-grant-program/
Houston and Harris County small businesses that have been impacted by COVID can apply for free grants or microloans from the Small Business Recovery Fund. The county and city is using stimulus dollars and is partnering with the non-profit LiftFund on applications. Up to $30 million will be issued. The majority of the financial assistance will be to women owned companies as well as Black, Indigeneous and People of Color (BIPOC) businesses. Apply here. https://www.liftfund.com/
August is Black owned business month in San Antonio and Bexar County. A number of activities are being provided. One will be micro-loans as well as micro-grants. Activities, including funding, are being arranged by the African American Chamber of Commerce of San Antonio (AACCSA). There will be mentoring, networking, sales events, financial help, and more. Get more details. https://africanamericanchambersa.org/
March and April 2021
Women veteran owned businesses can apply for free grants from the Center for Women Entrepreneurs, and each qualified business will be given as much as $10,000. The money can be used to help pay for a wide variety of expenses, including inventory, equipment, marketing or advertising costs, and much more. “Winners” are also given free coaching from a business advisor on site. Most of the Funds are coming from Texas Woman’s University (TWU). Learn more here. https://twu.edu/center-women-entrepreneurs/veteran-woman-grant/
November and December 2020
Tarrant County Small Business Assistance Grant Program is for small businesses that have been hit by COVID. There are free government grants for start up companies, minorities, veteran, Asian, and Black owned companies. The applicants need to have less than 25 employees, be a profit or charity in Tarrant County, and have been operating since 1/1/2020. While funding varies, a free grant of up to $10,000 can be paid out. Read more here. http://www.tarrantcounty.com/en/county/small-business.html
September 2020
Collin CARES Small Business Grant Program is for small businesses in Collin County Texas that have been operating for at least one year and that have less than $5 million in annual sales. The financial assistance is in the form of a free Grant, with applications for Spanish speakers as well. While most minority and female owned businesses will get $5,000, some small businesses may be awarded up to a $25,000 grant. Pay for inventory, working capital, and other costs. Read more here. https://www.collincountytx.gov/cares/Pages/SmallBusinessGrants.aspx
August 2020
Houston and Harris County disadvantaged businesses (minorities, Latinos, women, etc.) can get financial help from the government. The free grants can pay a number of operational expenses. There is also free consulting services from mentors or experienced business personnel in the region. Dial 713-845-2476 for information or applications on the Houston grants. Or more details here. https://www.harriscounty-sbrfund.org/
Fort Bend County is offering free grants of up to $25,000 per small business owner. It can be for a sole-proprietor or a company with up to 20 employees. The funds can help minorities, veterans, or other owners pay business costs, build working capital, and help them keep their doors open or grow. More info here. https://www.coronavirusfortbend.gov/covid19-small-business-emergency-assistance-grant-program.html
Webb, Zapata and Starr Counties residents can apply for small business loans. The South Texas Development Council is offering assistance using federal government funds. The money can help pay for expansion, loans can be for working capital, or paying other business expenses. Call (956) 722-3995 for details or applications.
By Jon McNamara
