A grant is a financial gift awarded by a government entity or organization to another organization for a specific purpose. Unlike loans, grants do not need to be paid back. Grants and tax incentives are awarded to qualified businesses based on criteria for that program. Finding what types of grants your business is eligible for can be a daunting process, so we found several type of grants that may be of interest to your business based on your needs. View the following grants and financial incentives for workforce development initiatives, as well as general or specified use grants by the type of business or organization. Note that below portrays general information about external grants, and the applicant should do more research to confirm details.
Grants & Incentives for Existing Business
What type of grant or incentive are you looking for?
My business has funding needs for . . .
My business has funding needs for . . .
CareerSource Pasco Hernando
CareerSource Pasco Hernando provides invaluable services designed to enhance your bottom line, including training grants for incumbent workers and new hires.
CareerSource Florida
CareerSource Florida offers training grants for incumbent worker training (existing employees) and quick response training (new and expanding employees) to Florida businesses.
Workforce Services at Veterans Florida
Assists employers in training through training grants, obtaining DOD approval, and recruiting SkillBridge participants. Also offers workforce recruiting and the Florida Skillbridge Initiative.
Pasco County Job Creation Incentive Grant
This incentive provides $2,000-$5,000 cash per job. Qualifying businesses must have a minimum of 10 new jobs created in Pasco County during the first year of operations with an average annual wage of at least 115% of the prevailing Pasco County wage.
Work Opportunity Tax Credit Program
Earn a federal tax credit between $1200 and $9600 per employee. This tax credit is dependent upon the new employee qualifying as a member of one of several target groups, including veterans, ex-felons, SNAP recipients, and more, and working a minimum of 120 hours in their first year.
High Impact Performance Incentive Grants & Other State Incentives
These grants are provided to pre-approved applicants in certain high-impact sectors as designated by the Governor's Office of Tourism. To be eligible, businesses must also create at least 50 new full-time equivalent jobs, or 25 if an R&D facility.
Research and Development Tax Credit
corporate income tax credit for eligible businesses for certain qualified research expenses.
Disaster Recovery Dislocated Worker Grants
Federal grants that provide disaster-relief employment, as well as employment and training services to eligible participants that minimize the impact of large, unexpected emergencies and natural disasters causing significant job losses.
CareerSource Pasco Hernando
CareerSource Pasco Hernando offers grant funding for creation of registered apprenticeship programs.
Apprentice Florida
The Apprenticeship State Expansion Grant is federally funded, but applied for through the state. Some of the companies that have been funded include businesses offering apprenticeships in utilities training, automation and maintenance, nursery and landscaping, marine industries and others.
Apprenticeship USA
Are you looking for open apprenticeship funding opportunity announcements? Open opportunities include grants and contracts issued by the U.S. Department of Labor designed to support apprenticeship expansion. Please visit grants.gov and/or sam.gov to view all federally funded opportunities.
2023 Florida Apprenticeship Tax Credit
The Florida Experiential Learning Tax Credit program allows a tax credit against the Florida corporate income/franchise tax for up to five apprentices, preapprentices, or student interns per taxable year, per corporation. The credit amount is $2,000 per apprentice, preapprentice, or student intern (maximum of $10,000 for each taxable year). A total of $2.5 million in credits is available for each of the four years of the program, 2022-2025.
Women's Bureau WANTO Grant
The purpose of the Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations (WANTO) Technical Assistance Grant Program is to provide technical assistance to employers to encourage employment of women in Registered Apprenticeship and nontraditional occupations.
Employee Retention Credit
The Employment Retention Credit is available to eligible employers that paid qualified wages to some or all employees after March 12, 2020, and before January 1, 2022. Businesses can potentially receive a credit of up to 70% of qualifying wages of employees up to $14,000 per employee.
Employer Tax Credit for Paid Family and Medical Leave
The employer credit for paid family and medical leave (FML) can be claimed by employers providing paid leave (wages) to employees under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993. The credit can be claimed for wages paid during tax years that begin in 2018 through 2025. The credit rate depends on how much employers provide for paid FML relative to wages normally paid.
Small Business Health Care Tax Credit
If you have less than 25 full-time employees making average wages of less than $56,000 per year, you may qualify for the Small Business Health Care Tax Credit that could be worth up to 50% of the costs you pay for your employees' premiums (35% for non-profit employers).
Employer Tax Credit for Offering Retirement Plans
For businesses with less than 50 employees, there is a startup credit of 100% of administrative costs up to $5,000 (up from the current 50% credit) and additional credits for employer contributions on behalf of employees up to $1,000. That benefit is phased out for small businesses with 51 to 100 employees and also phases out over time.
Community Contribution Tax Credit Program
A financial incentive up to 50 percent tax credit or sales tax refund to Florida businesses that make donations towards community development and housing projects for low-income persons. Businesses may take the credit on Florida corporate income tax, insurance premium tax or as a refund against sales tax.
Research Grants MGRP
The Florida High Tech Corridor’s Matching Grants Research Program (MGRP) fosters applied research between industry partners, and faculty and student researchers at the University of Central Florida and University of South Florida. Our grants directly fund the work of expert faculty and create an opportunity for their students to participate in collaborative research with industry partners in the 23-county region.
My business is a . . .
Florida High Tech Corridor's Matching Grants Research Program
The Florida High Tech Corridor’s Matching Grants Research Program (MGRP) fosters applied research between industry partners, and faculty and student researchers at the University of Central Florida and University of South Florida. Their grants directly fund the work of expert faculty and create an opportunity for their students to participate in collaborative research with industry partners in the 23-county region. Funds up to $150,000 are distributed to the university research team.
National Institute of Health (NIH)
The National Institutes of Health is the largest public funder of biomedical research in the world. NIH awards small businesses and researchers and supports research and development of deep technologies - those that are based on discoveries in fundamental science and engineering.
Federal Grants
Grants.gov houses information on over 1,000 grant programs and vets grant applications for federal grant-making agencies, including the Department of Defense, Department of Energy, Department of Commerce, and more. Here, you can learn about the grants process, grants offered by each department, and search for open grants.
NIST Office of Advanced Manufacturing (OAM)
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) offers cost-shared funding to pursue innovative technology R&D and increase energy efficiency across the manufacturing sector. Solicitations may involve collaborative partnerships among manufacturers, universities, suppliers, national labs, and others. Funding is awarded through an open, competitive process, and can be applied for on grants.gov.
Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (SBTT) Programs
The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs are highly competitive programs that encourage domestic small businesses to engage in Federal Research/Research and Development (R/R&D) with the potential for commercialization.
NASE Growth Grants
The National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE) provides grants of up to $4,000 to NASE members several times throughout the year. Use funds for marketing, advertising, hiring employees, expanding facilities and other specific business needs.
FedEx Small Business Grant Contest
Typically, any for-profit small business with a FedEx business account number that has been in continuous operation selling a product in market for at least six (6) months by the time the contest starts, has fewer than 99 employees, has a shipping need for their business, and meets other eligibility requirements as defined in the official contest rules is eligible to enter the contest.
America's Top Small Business Awards
Each year, the US Chamber of Commerce recognizes the achievements of small businesses and highlight their contributions to America’s economic growth. The winning small business will be named America's Top Small Business of the Year and be given a $25,000 cash prize. Eligible businesses will have fewer than 250 employees or less than $20 million in revenue. About 70 finalists will receive a free yearlong membership to the US Chamber of Commerce. The deadline to apply is in July of each year.
State Trade Expansion Program
STEP provides financial awards to state and territory governments to assist small businesses with export development. To date, over $200 million has been awarded to assist in growing the volume and value of small business exports.
Florida Opportunity Fund
The Florida Opportunity Fund’s fund of funds program was created to realize significant long-term capital appreciation by identifying and investing in a diversified, high-quality portfolio of seed and early stage venture capital funds that target (in whole or in part) investment opportunities within Florida.
Federal Grants for Veterans
The United States government has set aside $31,979.00 in government grants and $22,686.00 in other form of governmental financial funding across all the states to eligible applicants. Veterans who are currently residing in the state of Florida may be eligible to apply for various types of veteran grants and benefits, including veteran small business grants and veteran education grants.
Second Service Foundation
The Second Service Foundation (formerly StreetShares Foundation) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that supports military entrepreneurs through coaching, resources and capital, as well as an innovative mentorship program. Grant amounts can vary from event to event, but in 2019, the first-place winner received $15,000; the second-place winner received $6,000 and the third-place winner received $4,000.
Warriors Rising Foundation
Warriors Rising Foundation is a nonprofit organization founded by veterans in 2015 that offers small business grants and mentorship to veterans and their immediate family members. Members, called "Vetrepreneurs," complete a six-step process that includes Zoom coaching sessions and one-on-one mentorship, and part of the six-step process includes being provided grants, contacts of clients and investors, and essential tools.
Santander Bank's Cultivate Small Business Grants
The Cultivate Small Business program is designed to help early-stage entrepreneurs in low-income neighborhoods build and sustain their businesses, with a focus on women-, minority- and immigrant-owned businesses in food-related industries. The program provides industry specific education, networks and mentoring as well as small capital grants for business owners.
WomensNet Amber Grant
One of the very first online organizations to give women-owned business grants, the Amber Grant was set up to honor the memory of Amber Wigdahl. One $10,000 Amber Grant is awarded every month to a woman entrepreneur, and an additional $25,000 Amber Grant is awarded to one of the preceding 12 monthly Amber Grant winners.
Coalition to Back Black Businesses
Coalition to Back Black Businesses is a grant making initiative to provide immediate financial assistance and long-term support for America’s Black-owned small businesses in distressed communities. For the 2022-23 year, 324 black small-business owners and entrepreneurs across the country who received $5,000 in this grant program. For the most part, East Pasco and most of West Pasco qualifies for the program; use the website to check if the zip code of your business qualifies.
First Nations Development Institute Grants
First Nations has provided over 3,000 grants to Native projects since 1980, totaling $65 million. The grantmaking program provides both financial and technical resources to tribes and Native nonprofit organizations to support asset-based development efforts.
Wish Local Empowerment Program
Black-owned small businesses with 20 or fewer employees can apply to this grant program to receive between $500-$2000. There are no specific requirements on how to allocate funds, but one of the suggested uses is to support your workforce. If selected, the awardee must join the Wish Local network.
Florida High Tech Corridor Community Grants
The Corridor invests critical seed funds and catalytic grants to start and scale projects that revolutionize the way we make and use technology, train next-generation STEM professionals and celebrate innovators whose technologies are positively transforming our world. Awards to new partners do not typically exceed $5,000 and are not awarded to individuals or for-profit businesses.
Community Foundation of Tampa Bay
Community Foundation of Tampa Bay awards annual competitive grants to businesses in the Tampa Bay area. Grants awarded to nonprofit organizations in the Tampa Bay region that focus on one of five priorities: community vibrancy, economic mobility, empowering women & girls, mental well-being, positive education.
AmeriCorps
Nonprofit, community service, and faith-based organizations looking to do good in the community, such as considering poverty, service projects that meet community needs, locate volunteers, and more can get assistance from Americorps. Organizations will have access to a network of Americorps volunteers and funding resources.
Walmart Community Grants
Local Walmart stores provides mini-grants of up to $1,000 throughout the year for local nonprofit organizations.