For a small business, there are few things more important than adequate financing. That’s especially true in the startup phase or when an existing business is looking to expand. However, there’s hardly ever a time when a small businessperson has more than enough cash. You need to consider every possible source of funding, and one possibility that you shouldn’t overlook is small business grants in 2025 in Arkansas.
Grants offer some advantages that other types of financing cannot. If you put your own money into your company, possibly maxing credit cards and mortgaging your home, you put yourself personally at risk if the enterprise fails. If you borrow from a financial institution, you have to make repayment with interest, and those outflows can crimp your ability to put available money where you most need it. If you’re fortunate enough to attract venture capital, it comes with strings attached: a third party now has partial ownership of your company and is entitled to share in your future profits.
Small business grants in Arkansas don’t have to be repaid. They don’t compromise your ownership and control of your company. While you can’t run a business on grant money alone, these awards can bridge the gap between available funds and the cash infusion you really need.
However, grants are not going to come looking for you. You have to go out and find them. Here are some guidelines for discovering what grants are available in Arkansas and then applying for them.
A grant is a monetary award given to a business, generally by a government agency, a foundation, or a major corporation. It’s a gift. Unlike a loan, you aren’t expected to pay it back. Unlike a venture capital investment, it doesn’t give any third party ownership rights in your business. There may be restrictions on the use of the money, but generally there is some leeway about what you do with it.
Why would anyone just hand over a chunk of money to a small business? Often, it’s done to encourage certain types of investment. For example, if a state feels it’s lagging in technological sophistication, it might offer grants that are intended to be invested in technology. If a foundation wants to, for example, encourage environmentally sound manufacturing or promote social justice for underrepresented communities, it might offer grants that will be used to address such issues.
Sometimes grants are given with strings attached and dictate how the award must be used. In other cases, there is a great deal of flexibility, and an entrepreneur may use the grant in whatever way will most benefit their company.
Grants are especially useful in a business’s startup phase, when funding can be most difficult to come by. They also provide an ongoing enterprise with a unique opportunity to expand their current offerings or even to get into a new field of endeavor. There’s no time in the life of a business where a grant can’t be helpful.
Of the thousands of small business grants 2025, some are specifically available to Arkansas residents. There is still a plethora of Arkansas grants, many more than can be listed in a post like this. Government agencies such as the Arkansas Economic Development Commission (AEDC) and the Arkansas Office of Skills Development (OSD) provide some of them. To cut through the large number of grants, some business people use consolidation services such as US Grants and The Grant Portal. These require you to establish an account and may charge a fee.
Here is a sampling of small business grants available in Arkansas.
This program offers up to $250,000 to encourage mentorship of startups. Applicants should be involved in manufacturing, software design, computer processing, customer service, agriculture, science and technology, biotech, or transportation logistics.
This is a reimbursement grant where companies must make the expenditure up-front. Here is the application information.
This office offers several grants to support workplace training and development:
Apply for these grants with the Arkansas Office of Skills Development Submission Manager.
This is a matching grant to promote applied research between private companies and Arkansas colleges and universities. It supplies between half and two-thirds of the funding for eligible projects. These projects must enhance employment opportunities in Arkansas.
Apply with the Arkansas Economic Development Commission (AEDC).
Various federal agencies make grants available throughout the country, and there several that Arkansas business owners might consider applying for. Grants.gov is the official U.S. government website with descriptions and links for all available grants. Besides a flexible searchable database, it also includes tips on applying and other helpful educational materials about government grants.
Here are several grants available to Arkansas businesses.
SBIR grants fund R&D projects with the goal of promoting technological innovation. These are awarded to businesses with 500 employees or fewer. There is an emphasis on encouraging participation from companies with ownership by minorities and other communities that are traditionally underserved.
Learn more about the grants and how to apply at grants.gov.
STTR also supports research and development to companies with 500 employees or fewer. With STTR, there’s an emphasis on collaboration between private businesses and non-profit research institutions. Projects are frequently focused on research with military or commercial implications.
Learn more and apply at grants.gov.
This department offers grants focused on small businesses that are involved in education. While some are for non-profits and public schools, there are still many available for private sector businesses. Each has its own eligibility requirements.
Learn more at the Available Grants website, and apply by the deadline of March 6, 2025.
These grants come from non-regulatory agency of the Department of Commerce. They are awarded to startups that do R&D in technology fields such as communications, AI, bioscience, and nanotechnology.
Apply at grants.gov.
While many grants come from government agencies, not all of them do. Major corporations and private foundations are also players in funding grants. Many of these are awarded year after year. Here are some grants available in 2025.
FedEx awards $230,000 to FedEx small business customers, and they do so every year. Applicants must have a FedEx account, have 99 or fewer employees, and they must have been in business for at least six months.
The process is highly competitive, and it requires a detailed business plan and a compelling case about why the applicant should receive the award. Watch the FedEx Small Business Grants website for the 2025 application date.
Women’s Net hands out this award every month. It grants $10,000 to as many as three women. Monthly winners are invited to apply for the $25,000 annual prize.
Successful applicants submit a story that is in plain, heart-felt language rather than “business speak.” They must explain the business idea and how the grant would be used to address it.
The StreetShare awards are from $4,000 to $15,000, and they go to active-duty service members, veterans, and their spouses. They are for businesses that in some way have a social impact for the veteran community.
The application deadline is October of each year.
The handful of grants listed here just scratch the surface of the thousands of grant opportunities available to the Arkansas entrepreneur. If none of these seem applicable to you or your line of business, don’t give up the search. Use the available resources to search for other grant money that your enterprise might be eligible for. Grants are a valuable potential source of funding, and they aren’t one you should overlook. No matter who you are or what you do, there could well be an agency or foundation that offers a grant that aligns with your business well enough to be worth applying for.
Grants come with some advantages that other types of financing can’t match. Unlike loans, you won’t be faced with years of principal and interest repayment. Unlike venture capital investment, grants don’t compromise your ownership of your own company or demand a share of your future profits. They don’t put your own money at risk. These are gifts that give you a financial boost that you otherwise would not have had.
Once you’ve identified a grant that you’re eligible for, take time and care with your application. The businesses that most convincingly state their case are the ones that garner the awards. There are a lot of grants in the United States and in Arkansas, and they’re going to go to the entrepreneurs who are aware of them and submit their applications. There’s no reason you shouldn’t be the business owner who claims some of this grant money.
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