The Commonwealth of Virginia and non-profits provide funding for small, minority, veteran and women-owned businesses. There may be 0% interest loans or grants for Black owned companies, LGBTQ, Latino, immigrants, Asians, women businesses as well as other groups. The government works with banks, charities, credit unions, as well as community lenders in order to issue funds near you, including in Richmond, Fairfax, and Northern Virginia. Find a list MWBE loan and/or free grant programs in VA near you below
Note each and every agency and program will have their own application process in place. The loans or free grants in Virginia may help you start a business or grow an existing one or they help entrepreneurs get off the ground. They may be interest free loans or have affordable repayment terms. The list of Virginia grants and loans listed below, some of which may be near you, will be updated. There are funds allocated to MWBE, veteran as well as BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) owned businesses in Virginia. These will focus on funding women and minority owned businesses.
Small business loans and free grants for Virginia
Find a current, ongoing list of loans, free grants, and small business funding in Virginia near you. The most recent announcement will be at the top of the list, with older announcements and news releases towards the bottom.
February 2026
The United Way of Greater Charlottesville, and their Women United service, is providing grant money to non-profits in the Charlottesville VA area. Applicants need to be non-profits and also focused on addressing the causes of women / girls. Other criteria are in place to with the application at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfBaAEI6ADiD3OTBmozFyx2aoqzce8GWJNA69jAaZSFIp29mA/viewform
January 2026
The City of Charlottesville Small Business Energy Efficiency Incentive Grant Program is for both for-profits and nonprofits in the city. In total, up to $125,000 will be disbursed to qualified organizations to help them reduce energy usage with details and links to the applications here https://www.charlottesville.gov/m/newsflash/home/detail/2389
If you want to read about previous years grants and loans provided in VA, we have that information listed.
By Jon McNamara
