With more than $31,485.00 million dollars in grants and additional local government funding sources of $20,941.00 million dollars, the majority of the federal budget in government grants is put into the business sector every year as small businesses and large corporations are the foundation of the economic growth in Illinois. There are 254,007 business establishments in the state of Illinois, and they break down to the following:

Illinois Business Sector Breakdown by Size:

  • 153,446 registered businesses in Illinois have 0 to 4 employees. People who work at home with sole proprietorship are included in this breakdown.
  • 41,222 registered businesses in Illinois have 5 to 9 employees.
  • 25,905 registered businesses in Illinois have 10-19 employees.
  • 23,233 registered businesses in Illinois have 20-99 employees.
  • 5,832 registered businesses in Illinois have 100 to 499 employees.
  • Over 4,369 registered businesses in Illinois have over 500 employees.

Illinois Business Sector Breakdown in Service Industries:

  • 38,988 registered businesses in Illinois are in the Professional, Scientific and Technical Services sector.
  • 17,140 registered businesses in Illinois are in the Administrative, Support, Waste Management, and Remediation Services sector.
  • 26,580 registered businesses in Illinois are in the Accommodation and Food Services sector.
  • More than 31,972 registered businesses in Illinois are also service orientated businesses but are not categorized to the above sectors.

If you are in the farming industry, you may be eligible to apply for small business grants as well. There are more than 77,000 farms in the state of Illinois.

Starting and managing a small business in Illinois is not an easy task. Over $233,993,000,000.00 US dollars are paid to employee salaries/payroll alone in the state of Illinois and more than 80,803 businesses declare bankruptcy every single year. Although the federal government does not publically provide grants for starting and expanding a business, in Illinois, some small business grants are given to business owners to start and grow their ventures, and grant recipients do not have to pay back the funding from government. Therefore, it makes sense to look into small business grants as one of your sources to fund your business.

To apply for business grants in Illinois, contact Illinois financial aid agencies, or

Access Applicant Portal

Current online applicants in Illinois are browsing from the following cities: Rock Island, Machesney Park, East Moline, Pleasant Hill, Buckley, Du Bois, Highwood, Bowen, Rio, Oglesby

Recent State Funding Opportunities

Below is a list of opportunities recently published in the local state:

Funding Opportunity
Cooperative Agreement to Support the Illinois Institute of Technology's Institute for Food Safety and Health (U18) - Clinical Trials Not Allowed (Apply for RFA FD 24 017)

Funding Number: RFA FD 24 017
Agency: Food and Drug Administration
Category: Agriculture, Consumer Protection, Food and Nutrition
Funding Amount: $10,000,000
Service Area Competition – Additional Areas (SAC-AA) – California, Illinois, Kansas, Massachusetts, Missouri, New York, and West Virginia (Apply for HRSA 16 171)

Funding Number: HRSA 16 171
Agency: Health Resources and Services Administration
Category: Health
Funding Amount: Case Dependent
Head Start and/or Early Head Start Grantee - Calhoun, Greene, Jersey, and Macoupin Counties, Illinois (Apply for HHS 2016 ACF OHS CH R05 1056)

Funding Number: HHS 2016 ACF OHS CH R05 1056
Agency: Administration for Children and Families - OHS
Category: Income Security and Social Services
Funding Amount: $1,843,466
Head Start/Early Head Start Recipient -- Communities in the state of Illinois (Apply for HHS 2024 ACF OHS CH R5 0082)

Funding Number: HHS 2024 ACF OHS CH R5 0082
Agency: Administration for Children and Families - OHS
Category: Income Security and Social Services
Funding Amount: $6,301,899
Head Start/Early Head Start Recipient -- Communities in the state of Illinois (Apply for HHS 2024 ACF OHS CH R5 0116)

Funding Number: HHS 2024 ACF OHS CH R5 0116
Agency: Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families - OHS
Category: Income Security and Social Services
Funding Amount: $14,664,315
Head Start and/or Early Head Start Grantee -- Communities in the state of Illinois (Apply for HHS 2021 ACF OHS CH R05 1970)

Funding Number: HHS 2021 ACF OHS CH R05 1970
Agency: Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families - OHS
Category: Income Security and Social Services
Funding Amount: $4,248,039
Head Start/Early Head Start Grantee -- Communities in the state of Illinois (Apply for HHS 2021 ACF OHS CH R05 1866)

Funding Number: HHS 2021 ACF OHS CH R05 1866
Agency: Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families - OHS
Category: Income Security and Social Services
Funding Amount: $157,599,474
Head Start and/or Early Head Start Expansion - Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, and South Carolina (Apply for HHS 2020 ACF OHS CH 1818)

Funding Number: HHS 2020 ACF OHS CH 1818
Agency: Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families - OHS
Category: Income Security and Social Services
Funding Amount: $4,027,077
NOTICE OF INTENT: Collaboration and Colocation between the USGS CMWSC and the Univeristy of Illinois (Apply for USGS 20 FA 0263)

Funding Number: USGS 20 FA 0263
Agency: Department of the Interior, U. S. Geological Survey
Category: Other (see text field entitled Explanation of Other Category of Funding Activity for clarification)
Funding Amount: $1,808,648
Head Start and/or Early Head Start Grantee -- Boone, Dekalb, Grundy, Kane, and Kendall Counties, Illinois (Apply for HHS 2020 ACF OHS CH R05 1662)

Funding Number: HHS 2020 ACF OHS CH R05 1662
Agency: Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families - OHS
Category: Income Security and Social Services
Funding Amount: $8,962,171

 

Small Business Grants in Local States

Alabama Alaska Arkansas Arizona California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming

 

Grant application guides and resources

It is always free to apply for government grants. However the process may be very complex depending on the funding opportunity you are applying for. Let us help you!

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