13 Best Small Business Grants in Arizona

How do small business grants work?

Grants are different from other types of funding options—they don't have to be repaid. Grants are generally offered by the federal government, city and state governments, or private foundations, each having its own qualification requirements. Although the grant application process is competitive and involves submitting a detailed application with supporting financial and program statements, the reward is truly worth the time and investment.

Here are our suggestions on where to look for grants that support small business owners in Arizona.

Types of small business grants

Arizona's small business owners are welcome to apply for the following types of grants if their businesses meet the grantor's purpose and eligibility criteria. 

Federal business grants

The federal government is one of the largest providers of grants, many of which focus on promoting small business growth and boosting the economy. Two of the most notable federal grant programs are the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Grant and the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) Grant. 

State business grants

State and local government business grants play a crucial role in fostering economic growth, creating jobs, and supporting other development within the state. These grants often target local initiatives and community-specific needs. The Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA) is the state's premier economic development organization, focused on boosting business growth and development while helping underserved businesses.

In 2024, the ACA received a historic federal investment of over $7 million from the U.S. Department of Treasury and the Small Business and Community Investment Program Office. The funding aims to support underrepresented and very small businesses and enhance technical assistance programs across the state.

Research and development grants

Many federal agencies, universities, and corporations sponsor research and development grants to spur innovation, creativity, and invention in products, processes, or services. Research and development grants are common in medicine, healthcare, and renewable energy. Challenge.gov has a helpful database of technical and scientific competitions that award prize money to businesses that drive innovation.

Nonprofit and community development grants

These grants are exclusively available to nonprofits and charities that work toward the betterment of the community and social change. The Arizona Community Foundation provides vital support to nonprofits, religious organizations, and educational institutions in the state that have programs that aim to make Arizona a better place for all.

Industry-specific grants

Industry-specific grants are common in the health care, scientific, and technical domains like renewable energy, agriculture, and electronics to spur innovation or solutions to a problem. Because of the nature of these grants, you may find an overlap with research and development grants.

Private business grants

These grants are given by individuals, private foundations, or corporations. Private grants typically have a special focus area, like education, the environment, or social services. Some of these private business grants involve a pitch competition, where one has to "pitch" their idea to a panel of judges. The winners receive a monetary award and vital resources such as access to mentors to help their startup.

10 Best small business grants in Arizona for 2025

Arizona is dedicated to creating ample opportunities for business owners and expanding access to financial capital, resources, and advisory services. Here are some of the top business grants available to aspiring and established business owners in the state.

1. Arizona Innovation Challenge

The Arizona Innovation Challenge is an exciting grant competition that provides 10 promising companies with the chance to receive up to $150,000 in funding. To apply, your business should have between two and 29 employees and under $10 million in assets. Additionally, your company must be from one of the following industries—advanced materials manufacturing, aerospace and defense, bio and life sciences, renewable energy, or information technology.

2. Arizona State Trade Expansion Program (AZ STEP) Grant

The Arizona Commerce Authority, in partnership with the Small Business Administration (SBA), provides vital resources to small businesses entering the export market for the first time. The STEP Grant helps companies cover costs associated with entering the international marketplace and finding customers.

3. WomensNet Grants

WomensNet offers three different types of grants to underserved small businesses run by women. Eligible women business owners just need to fill one application to be considered for all grants. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis and there's a small $15 application fee.

• Amber Grant. The Amber Grant awards multiple grants to women business owners or entrepreneurs looking to start a business. A grant of $10,000 is offered monthly, and monthly winners automatically qualify for the draw for an annual $25,000 award.
• Startup Grant. If you just have a business "idea" or limited sales (under $10,000), the Startup Grant is probably the grant you should consider. Each month, three lucrative business ideas are awarded a cash grant of $10,000.
• Business Category Grants. If your business focuses on underserved communities or causes, you can apply for a category business grant. Each month, there’s a $10,000 cash prize for a business that falls under that month's category. For instance, for Apr. 2025, the category focus is sustainability. So if your business falls under that category, you can apply and potentially receive substantial financial influx. 

4. BuildItAZ Apprenticeship Initiative Grant

The BuildItAZ Apprenticeship Initiative Grant helps businesses in the construction and building trades sector create more jobs and increase employee training programs. Each year, five businesses are awarded varying grants that can be used to hire instructors, improve outreach and recruitment efforts, develop curriculums, provide skills training, or give support services such as tools, uniforms, and transportation assistance.

5. Arizona Community Foundation (ACF) Grants

Building a better Arizona—that's the Arizona's Community Foundation's primary mission and aim. Their grants cover a wide range of programs and needs—from supporting underserved Arizona small businesses to funding groups that often get overlooked, such as women, refugees, and the LGBTQ+ community. Their competitive grants foster job creation, support employee retention, and aid hiring.

6. Federal and State Technology (FAST) Grant

This Small Business Administration (SBA) sponsored grant supports innovative and technology-driven small businesses. The Arizona Commerce Authority facilitates Arizona's FAST Program. It provides capital access, resources, and networking opportunities that will help Arizona businesses compete for the federal Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant. Application for the FAST program opens in January, and six businesses stand to receive up to $3,000 in funding.

7. Arizona Rural Broadband Development Grant

This grant was started to fuel the economy and lives of those living in rural Arizona. Two types of grants are offered—development and planning. The development grants, capped at $1,000,000 per project, are for projects ready for construction. Planning grant recipients are awarded a maximum of $50,000. Non-profit telecommunications enterprises that have existed for at least five years are eligible to apply.

8. The Arizona Advanced Manufacturing Facilities Grant

The ACA, in partnership with Arizona State University, sponsors the Arizona Advanced Manufacturing Facilities (AMF) Grant. The grant provides startups in semiconductor, aerospace, and advanced material fields with discounted access to ASU's Core Facilities like clean rooms, high-purity gases and liquids, and state-of-the-art equipment—all of which can speed up their journey to commercialization. The grant provides a one-to-one match of ASU’s established core facilities, up to $75,000.

9. Moonshot Rural Pitch Competition

Run by Moonshot AZ, a non-profit organization, this rural-focused pitch competition aims to empower very small businesses and early-stage startups to grow and bring their products to the market. In addition to cash prizes, Moonshot also provides awardees with mentorship and networking access. If you have a bright idea, go ahead and sign up for their pitch competition.

10. Town of Pinetop-Lakeside Façade Grant Program

The Facade Grant Program provides grants to retail, restaurant, theater, and service businesses (pet care, hair salons, auto repair) in the Town of Pinetop-Lakeside Township. Qualified businesses can get up to $2,500 in funds to use for signage, painting, fencing, and other restoration projects.

11. AZHCC Elevate Together

The Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (AZHCC) offers the Elevate Together program, which focuses on matching different funding sources to businesses led by Black, Hispanic, and Latino entrepreneurs. Grant amounts range between $5,000–$10,000. In addition to cash grants, the foundation provides mentoring and financial planning assistance to minority-owned businesses.

12. Growing Opportunities Program

The Growing Opportunities (GO) program, supported by the Arizona Small Business Association, is an in-person cohort program that can help underserved entrepreneurs enhance skills and access finances. By offering mentorship and financial access, the program improves their chances of success and contributes to the state's economic growth.

The program works with BIPOC, women, veterans, and those impacted by the criminal legal system. Since its inception, the GO program has proudly provided over $92,000 in financial aid to aspiring and established Arizona small business owners. 

13. Local First Arizona

Since 2003, Local First Arizona has been driven to further the state's entrepreneurial spirit. The organization provides grants, micro-loans, and training and advisory services to urban, tribal, rural, and mining communities in the state. Two of their top grant initiatives are the Business Builder Awards and the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP).

• Business Builder Awards gives $10,000–$100,000 in monetary assistance to established small to mid-sized businesses in the agriculture industry (like farmers, food hubs, or food processors) in the Arizona area. The application cycle opens once a year in January.
• The Rural Energy for America Program, which runs in partnership with the USDA Rural Development, assists qualifying agricultural producers and rural small businesses improve their energy efficiency. The grant covers up to 50% of costs related to the improvements such as upgrading lighting fixtures and improving insulation.

Local First Arizona also offers a We Rise accelerator program for the state’s Black entrepreneurs. The six-month program, which meets bi-weekly, provides knowledge on financing, business plan development, business development models, and networking.

Other state programs

While not grants, these are some other state programs that spur small business development and can help your business access vital resources.

1. Arizona Manufacturing Extension Partnership (Arizona MEP)

The Arizona Manufacturing Extension Partnership's mission is to make Arizona manufacturers the best they can be. They offer hands-on training, solutions, and services that foster economic development. Their products and services include lean manufacturing, process improvement, and strategic planning, and workforce development.

2. DreamBuilder

DreamBuilder is both an online business incubator that helps women and underserved entrepreneurs enhance their skills while getting tools that can help build and launch their business. The program's success comes from easy-to-understand modules that one can complete at their own pace. They also provide bilingual resources, both in Spanish and English. Plus, it's free to sign up!

How to apply for a small business grant

Each funder may have their own application process and requirements, but by in large, most Arizona small business grants follow the listed steps:

Step 1: Create a list of relevant grants

The first step is creating a list of relevant grants for your small business in Arizona. This is probably the most time-consuming part, but there are multiple resources that can help. Search online grant databases like Grants.gov or US Grants. You can also reach out to your local Arizona Small Business Development Center (AZSBDC), the Arizona Commerce Authority, or Arizona Economic Resource Center for information on grants and other funding opportunities. Consider keeping a record of all appropriate grants and their deadlines in a spreadsheet.

Step 2: Double-check eligibility requirements

Since grants tend to be competitive, it's best to channel your energy into applying for grants your business is a very good match for. Eligibility requirements may include the size of the business, a minimum/maximum revenue amount, or the type of activities the business is involved in. By understanding the eligibility criteria, you are increasing your chances of success.

Go over each grant's eligibility requirements and filter out ones that don't align with your business' purpose and needs. If you are unsure whether your business is a match, don't hesitate to contact the grantor for clarification.

Step 3: Prepare the required documentation

Grant applications can be lengthy and require a lot of supporting paperwork—financial projections, business plans, tax returns, project proposals, client testimonials, and maybe even a product prototype. Check what your grant requires and prepare all of it before you sit down to submit your application.

Step 4: Tell your business' story

This is the heart of your application—the reason why you believe your small business deserves the grant from the grantor. This portion may require you to talk about your business's mission and vision statement, present the problem your business addresses, and explain the impact or competitive advantage. With so much riding on this part, it's beneficial to get a business mentor or startup business consultant to review this portion of your application. Many businesses also choose to hire a professional grant writer for this part.

Step 5: Submit your application

When you’re ready, submit the completed application with all extra documents per the grantor's preferred method, whether that's online, via mail, or by email. It’s a good idea to give yourself enough buffer in case technical hiccups happen around the time of the deadline. Track the application submission date alongside any application submission number in your grant spreadsheet.

Step 6: Follow up (if necessary)

Most grantors provide a heads-up on when they'll review the application and provide a decision. Some grantors review applications on a rolling basis, while others review them at predetermined dates. If you don't hear back from the grantor within the expected timeline, there's no harm in following up via email. It may even show them how committed you are to securing the grant.

Business grant vs. business loan: How are they different?

What sets a grant apart from a traditional business loan is that it usually doesn't have to be returned to the lender. Loans, whether they are secured through a bank, an online lender, or the SBA, have to be paid back—usually with interest.

Grants are also more specific on how the allocated funds must be used. With a business loan, you have more flexibility in deciding how to use the funds, whether that's to cover a capital equipment purchase or a marketing expense.

FAQs

What are some other types of funding for small businesses?

Apart from grants, Arizona small businesses can consider business loans, crowdfunding, business credit, and peer-to-peer (P2P) lending as other funding options.

Do small business grants have to be paid back?

Generally grants don't have to be returned. But, it's not uncommon for grantors to ask for repayment if they find you misused the funds or didn't use them for the purpose stated in the application.

Is a small business grant taxable?

Yes, in the majority of cases, grants received need to be declared as income on your personal income taxes. There may be exceptions to this for which a small business attorney or tax accountant can help you.

What can a small business grant be used for?

A small business grant can be used for a variety of purposes, however, most grantors stipulate what the grant money can be used for. Let’s say you apply for a capital funding grant through the Arizona Community Foundation. If awarded, you must use the funds for the specific capital project listed in your application. Not playing by the rules can lead to legal and financial trouble—you don't want to be asked to pay the money back.