If your business requires a cash injection, but you don’t want to risk falling into debt cycles from private loans, it might be time to consider business grants.
By providing crucial funding for specific projects, and giving your business much-needed visibility, grants can be a great way to take your venture to the next level. It only takes a couple of minutes to apply to most opportunities too, allowing you to throw your hat in the ring without investing heaps of time and energy.
If you’re interested in trying your luck, we’ve rounded up five business grants currently accepting applications in March. Read on to learn about their eligibility criteria, and funding details, and for tips on how to streamline the application process with AI.
Small Business Grants to Apply For in March 2025
With spring around the corner, there’s no better time to plant the seeds for your business’s future growth. Don’t delay your chances any longer, and apply for one of these business grants.
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1. Faire Small Business Grant
- For: Independent retail stores
- Grantor: Faire Wholesale
- Amount: $5,000
The Faire Small Business Grant is a new funding program designed to help new retailers successfully open up shop. The scheme, which is run by the online marketplace Faire, supports retailers by providing them with $5,000 in Faire store credits to stock their stores.
To be eligible for the program, applicants need to be independent retail owners, have either recently opened or plan to open a store soon, and be based in the US. You’ll also have to sign up for a free Faire account, where you’ll be automatically considered for up to $20k in interest-fee financing to help you purchase inventory for your new store.
All you have to do to apply is describe your store and how you’d use the grant, and submit a short video submission. Faire also rolls out a new scheme each quarter, so if you miss the April 1 deadline you won’t have to wait too long until the next window.
- Deadline: April 1
2. Entreprenista Evolve Grant
- For: Female business owners
- Grantor: Entreprenista
- Amount: $2,500
Evolve is a grant program offered by Entrepenista — a women founders network and resources portal. The scheme is open to all female business owners and entrepreneurs and aims to empower the impact and voice of founders, through improving access to funding.
To be in with a chance of winning that prize money, all you have to do is describe your business mission, explain how your company would evolve if you were to receive the grant and share your business’s website. Like the Faire Small Business Grant, this funding opportunity is accepting applications until the end of the month, but we recommend getting a proposal in as soon as possible to avoid any deadline anxiety.
- Deadline: March 31
3. Skip’s $10,000 Strategy Grant
- For: US-based entrepreneurs (with a Skip membership)
- Grantor: Skip
- Amount: $10,000
After the success of its February round, popular grant platform Skip is back with another $10,000 Strategy Grant. Unlike most other grants, Skip’s Strategy Grant is open to all US-based entrepreneurs, regardless of their demographic, or business purpose. However, you do need to have an active Skip Business membership to apply, which can be purchased directly through Skip’s website.
In addition to the grand prize of $10,000, five finalists will also receive $1,000 which they will able to pay toward Skip services. The application process is quick and easy too. Simply create a business plan on Skip, and then explain how this business plan has helped you advance your strategic business goals.
- Deadline: March 29
4. ZenBusiness $5K Grant Program
- For: ZenBusiness customers
- Grantor: ZenBusiness
- Amount: $5,000
ZenBusiness is an online platform designed to help small businesses and entrepreneurs. As part of their mission to support small ventures from the ground up, the company started a grant program in 2020. Now, in its fifth year, ZenBusinesses’s $5k Grant Program is opening its virtual doors once again, and giving all of its customers a chance to cash in.
Aside from a $5,000 grant, grantees will receive access to ZenBusinesses ‘Money Pro’ plan and ZenBusiness Banking for 30 days, “Ask Me Anything” office hours with the company team, and ZenBusiness products that are available at the time of grant distribution.
All ZenBusiness customers are able to apply, granted they’ve used the service within the last three to six months, and run a private entity business that’s registered and officially based in the US. You’re also excluded from applying if you’ve won a previous award.
- Deadline: March 31
5. Galaxy Grants
- For: Female or minority entrepreneurs
- Grantor: Galaxy of Stars
- Amount: $2,450
Galaxy of Stars and 501(c)(3) non-profit Hidden Star have partnered up to give small business owners a chance to win $2,450 worth of funding this March. With previous winners hailing from San Diego to Detroit, the scheme is open to small businesses across the US, as long as they’re woman or minority-owned.
It only takes 30 seconds to apply for a Galaxy Grant – all you need to do is fill in some personal information, including your email, zip code, ethnicity, and gender. It’s also worth sending the application around to your friends too, because if they win you’re also eligible for some prize money!
- Deadline: March 31
Streamline Your Grant Application With AI Platforms
AI should never be used to manage the grant writing process from start to finish. However, if you’re sending off lots of applications, or are struggling to get the ball rolling, AI platforms can act as a great helping hand.
Instrumentl is a grant management system that nonprofits can use to research and track grants. The platform has also released a specialized grant writing tool, which helps applicants create program summaries using simple prompts. The tool also uses AI to autofill applications based on your past successes, and according to the platform, these features help applicants finesse their first draft within five minutes.
Grantable is another AI grant writing assistant that can be used to whip up proposals quickly. The platform can be used to answer specific questions and make corrections, and it even lets you upload grant application requirements to help you stick closely to the relevant criteria.
If you’re already well-versed with well-known chatbots like ChatGPT and Google Gemini, you can also use these platforms to aid your grant writing process. All you need to do is enter prompts that provide specific information about your grant proposal, including details about your business and the purpose of the grant, before refining the responses until you’re happy.
Always be sure to maintain a human touch, however, as unique proposals are much more likely to catch the eye of the grant reviewers.
