Free guide · Windfall

12 Grants Every Texas Business Should Know About

Texas Small Business Credit Initiative, TxDOT Small Business Enterprise, Rebuild Texas Fund, plus federal + corporate + foundation grants available to TX-based businesses.

$500M+
TX small biz dedicated funding
40+
State + local programs
12
Grants in this guide
0
Have to be repaid

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Part 1 · Quick wins

6 grants of $500–$10K, fast decisions

Local chapters, corporate programs with TX rounds, low-friction national micro-grants. Under 30 minutes to apply.

Awesome Foundation (TX chapters)
$1,000
Monthly
Chapters in Austin, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Fort Worth
Amber Grant · WomensNet
$10,000/mo + $25K year-end
Monthly
Women-owned · auto-entry every month
HerRise Microgrant
$500–$1,000
Monthly
Black women entrepreneurs · quick decisions
Freed Fellowship
$500 + $2.5K year-end
Monthly
Best for visual/creative TX founders
Idea Café Grant
$1,000
Quarterly
Open to all · historically favors underrepresented owners
Comcast RISE — Texas rounds
$5K–$50K
Monthly
BIPOC-owned TX · marketing + tech bundled
Part 2 · State + federal + big foundations

6 grants + programs of $5K–$500K+

Bigger amounts, more preparation. Includes TX-specific programs like TxDOT SBE (federal contracting) and Rebuild Texas Fund.

Texas Small Business Credit Initiative (TSBCI)
Loan guarantees, various
Rolling
State-backed capital access · via participating TX lenders
TxDOT Small Business Enterprise Program
Federal contract set-asides
Rolling
DBE-certified TX biz · federal transportation contracts
Rebuild Texas Fund
Varies by round
Cyclical
Disaster-affected TX businesses + nonprofits
SBIR / STTR (federal, tech R&D)
$150K–$1.5M
Rolling
Non-dilutive federal R&D · Austin + Houston tech corridor
1863 Ventures Innovate! Fund
$5K–$25K
Rolling
Explicitly for Black, Brown, Native TX founders
Wells Fargo Open for Business Fund
$5K–$100K
Rolling
Via TX CDFIs like PeopleFund + LiftFund
The reality
Texas has more than $500M dedicated annually to small business support programs — Texas Small Business Credit Initiative alone allocates hundreds of millions to underserved businesses. Most Texas entrepreneurs never see it because the programs are buried in different agency websites.

— Windfall philosophy

What you'll get in your inbox

The 12 grants with direct links, exact amounts, eligibility, deadlines, and application tips — plus 3 follow-up emails on TSBCI + TxDOT SBE certification, your Readiness Score, and a 30-day plan to win your first Texas grant.

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One guide per segment. Applying to 3-5 grants that actually fit beats spraying 40 that don't.