DC Small Business Grants 2026: What's Open Now

District of Columbia small business grants open or recurring in 2026

Grantsights verified 7 DC programs that pay grant or reimbursement money to for-profit businesses and that are rolling or have run every year, so a next round is expected. Only 2 were accepting applications on October 18, 2026, and both are reimbursement programs. DC's fiscal year 2027 began October 1, and its grant notices usually follow in December.

Left out: the Restaurant and Retail Stabilization Grant (up to $50,000, run by Capital Impact Partners), which DMPED announced as brand-new for May 5 to June 5, 2026 with no second round announced; DMPED's FY2026 Commercial Property Acquisition Fund, Rhode Island Avenue, Chinatown, and Capitol Hill construction impact grants, all closed with no FY2027 notice; the Emerging Retail Initiative, whose award amount we couldn't find; FY2026 CBE Sustainable Energy grants, whose performance period ended September 30, 2026; and DC Sustainable Energy Utility rebates, which we couldn't load. The Neighborhood Prosperity Fund's last round we found was FY2024. DSLBD's Capacity Building grants go to service providers, not ordinary businesses.

Loans, credit support, and free help in DC

These are loans, loan support, equity, or advising, not grants. They're open year-round, which makes them the realistic answer for most DC owners between grant windows.

Last updated: 2026-10-18

DC's grants reward businesses that are ready before the window opens: certified, tax-clean, in the right corridor, with quotes in hand. To see which DC routes fit your ward and industry, run the free eligibility checker, or browse open listings in the Grantsights grant database. The small business grants by state hub compares DC with all 50 states.

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Great Streets: DC's largest small business grant

The FY2026 Great Streets Retail Small Business Grant had $2 million to award, in grants of up to $90,000, according to DMPED's FY2026 request for applications (opens in a new tab). The standard award was $70,000, with an optional $20,000 "innovation top-up." It opened December 12, 2025 and closed January 23, 2026, after an amendment.

The eligibility rules are tight. The business must be a for-profit retail or service business, or an arts nonprofit, located in or next to one of DC's Great Streets corridors, in a street-facing first- or second-floor space under lease or deed. Three-year average revenue must be under $3 million. The business must create at least 2 new permanent jobs and commit to hiring DC residents, and it must be LBE-certified or LBE-eligible. Home-based, e-commerce, and professional services businesses can't apply, and neither can anyone who won Great Streets from FY2021 through FY2025.

The FAQ calls it very competitive, with hundreds of applicants and decisions that can't be appealed. For example, one company in DC, say a family bakery on a Great Streets corridor with $600,000 in annual sales, could ask for $70,000 toward an oven, counter build-out, and a new storefront, plus the $20,000 top-up for a new-concept feature, but only if it plans 2 new hires and hasn't won since FY2021. Grantsights' read: the FY2027 round will probably follow last year's December timing, but no official page says so yet.

Robust Retail and the ward programs: smaller grants, simpler rules

Robust Retail is DSLBD's lottery grant: about 50 awards of up to $10,000 each from a $500,000 pool, picked by a random number generator rather than a scoring panel. DSLBD's page says the program has given more than $4.5 million to over 500 local businesses since 2019. The FY2026 round was open December 1, 2025 to January 20, 2026, for DC retailers with fewer than 25 full-time employees and a Clean Hands certificate.

It's reimbursement only. The FY2026 round covered spending from October 1, 2025 to January 20, 2026, and winners had to supply receipts within one week of accepting. FY2025 winners couldn't apply, and you can't claim the same expenses through another grant.

The Ward 8 Community Investment Fund had $430,000 across two tracks: about 25 grants of up to $8,000, and about 23 grants of up to $10,000 for CBE-certified businesses that completed contract and procurement training. Round 2 ran only two weeks, August 7 to 21, 2026, which shows how fast DC windows can close. The Dream Accelerator works differently: Ward 7 and 8 microbusinesses complete a training cohort, then compete for pitch awards of $2,500 to $7,500.

Wage reimbursement and the film rebate: the rolling options

The Department of Employment Services' on-the-job training program reimburses up to 75% of a new hire's wages for employers with 99 or fewer staff, and 50% for larger employers, for up to six months. According to DOES's job training page (opens in a new tab), FY2026 reimbursements were capped at $35,000 per agreement. The hire must be a DC resident in a W-2 job of 32 or more hours a week, paid at least DC's minimum wage, and seasonal jobs don't qualify.

OCTFME's Film, Television and Entertainment Rebate Fund serves a different business: productions spending at least $250,000 in DC. It rebates up to 35% of qualified spending subject to DC tax, 30% of resident cast and crew pay, and 50% of job training costs, subject to available funds.

Which federal grants reached DC small businesses in FY2025

DC small-business recipients received $34.40 million in federal grant obligations in FY2025, across 53 awards to 31 recipients, according to USAspending.gov records. That's from a Grantsights analysis of USAspending.gov (opens in a new tab) FY2025 grant awards to small-business recipients in the District of Columbia, pulled from the public USAspending.gov API (opens in a new tab) on October 18, 2026, using grant award types 02 to 05, the "small business" recipient type, a DC recipient location, and October 1, 2024 through September 30, 2025.

One recipient dominates: the Computing Research Association, a nonprofit that registered as a small business, received $24.09 million, or 70% of the total, mostly through NSF's computer science directorate. Without it, DC small businesses received about $10.3 million, nearly all of it NIH, NSF, and DOE research money. NSF sent $24.81 million in all, HHS $5.55 million, and DOE $3.48 million. Only 15 recipients ended the year with positive net obligations.

Limits: "small business" is self-reported in each recipient's SAM.gov registration (opens in a new tab), which is how a national association ends up in this list, and these are obligations net of deobligations, not payments. Federal contracts, which matter far more to DC firms, aren't included.

What DC's economic development sites don't tell you

DMPED and DSLBD publish detailed notices. What they don't put up front is how much preparation the winning applications need.

Clean Hands comes first. The Office of Tax and Revenue's Clean Hands page (opens in a new tab) says DC denies licenses, permits, grants, and contracts to anyone owing more than $1,000 to OTR or DOES, or with unfiled DC returns, over a five-year lookback. Most owners get the certificate instantly online, but fixing a missing return can take up to eight weeks. A common mistake is discovering a problem the week a grant opens.

CBE certification takes time and has real tests. DSLBD requires a principal office physically in DC, with managers working there, and one of four tests: over 50% of employees, owners, assets, or gross receipts in DC. Some tracks require CBE status; Great Streets asks for LBE certification or eligibility instead. Apply months ahead.

Winners get reimbursed, not paid up front. Great Streets money arrives about six months after the deadline, and Robust Retail and Ward 8 grants pay back receipts. You'll need cash or a loan to buy first.

Recent winners sit out. Great Streets bars FY2021 to FY2025 grantees, and Robust Retail and Ward 8 bar the prior year's winners, so the same businesses don't win every year.

Windows are short. FY2026 windows ran three to six weeks, and some only two. Bookmark the program pages now.

Grant fees are a red flag. The FTC's government grant scam guidance (opens in a new tab) says no government agency will ever contact you demanding payment to get a grant. DMPED and DSLBD don't charge application fees.

SSBCI in DC: $62 million in loan support and venture capital

The District's SSBCI allocation is $62.0 million, according to Treasury's SSBCI capital program summaries (opens in a new tab).

Treasury describes the lending programs' cap as 50% of the loan up to $1 million in support, while DISB's own pages say DISB may fund up to 50% but no more than $500,000 in one place and $1 million in another. Confirm the current cap with your lender. Borrowers need a DC principal office, fewer than 750 employees, at least 75% of employees working in DC, and at least 25% of W-2 staff living in DC, and DISB charges closing and annual fees of up to 4%.

How to get ready for DC's FY2027 grant rounds

1. Get your Clean Hands certificate now, and fix any unfiled returns.
2. Apply for CBE certification through DSLBD if you meet one of the four tests.
3. Check whether your address is in a Great Streets corridor.
4. Collect quotes, your lease, and a hiring plan so you can apply in the first week.
5. Line up bridge money from a CDFI or BizCAP lender, since grants reimburse.
6. Book a DC SBDC session to review your application before you submit it.

Owners near the District line can compare. The Maryland small business grants guide and the Virginia small business grants guide cover the two neighbors, and WACIF and LEDC lend in all three. Research firms should read the SBIR grants complete guide.

Sources

• Great Streets Retail Small Business Grant (opens in a new tab)
• Great Streets FY2026 RFA (amended) (opens in a new tab)
• DC Locally Made Manufacturing Grant (opens in a new tab)
• DSLBD Robust Retail (opens in a new tab)
• DSLBD Ward 8 Community Investment Fund (opens in a new tab)
• DSLBD Dream Pitch (opens in a new tab)
• DSLBD CBE certification (opens in a new tab)
• DOES job training (opens in a new tab)
• OCTFME rebate fund (opens in a new tab)
• OTR Certificate of Clean Hands (opens in a new tab)
• DISB DC BizCAP (opens in a new tab)
• DMPED DC Venture Capital Program (opens in a new tab)
• Treasury SSBCI capital program summaries (opens in a new tab)
• FTC government grant scams (opens in a new tab)
• DC SBDC (opens in a new tab)
• SBA microloans (opens in a new tab)
• USAspending.gov API (opens in a new tab)
• SAM.gov entity registration (opens in a new tab)