Grants for Small Businesses

Defense Health Agency Contracting Activity - DHACA · Amount varies

Department of War (Defense Health Agency) Spinal Cord Injury Research Program Investigator-Initiated Research Award funding studies that could meaningfully advance spinal cord injury research, patient care, or quality of life, from basic through translational science. Eligibility is listed as unrestricted/open to any entity type subject to clarification in the full notice; an early-career partnership option allows two principal investigators. No award amount is specified. The stated eligibility is broad.

Office of Naval Research · $250K–$500K

Office of Naval Research Broad Agency Announcement funding applied research on communications and networking technologies for naval operations. Open to academia, industry, and the research community worldwide, including small and large businesses; federal labs and FFRDCs cannot receive awards directly but may team with eligible applicants. Awards range from about $250,000 up to $500,000. Eligibility is broad, with the noted exclusions for certain government and federally funded entities.

Defense Health Agency Contracting Activity - DHACA · Amount varies

Department of War (Defense Health Agency) Orthopaedic Research Program Applied Research Award funding applied research to improve treatment and restore function for service-related orthopaedic injuries. Eligibility is listed as unrestricted/open to any entity type subject to clarification in the full notice; preliminary data are required and clinical research is not allowed under this mechanism. No award amount is specified. Projects must demonstrate military relevance, but the stated eligibility is broad.

Defense Health Agency Contracting Activity - DHACA · Amount varies

Department of War (Defense Health Agency) Toxic Exposures Research Program Investigator-Initiated Research Award funding studies on diseases and conditions linked to military-related toxic exposures, spanning basic, translational, and preclinical/human research. Eligibility is listed as unrestricted/open to any entity type subject to clarification in the full notice. No award amount is specified. The stated eligibility is broad, though projects must be relevant to military toxic-exposure research.

Defense Health Agency Contracting Activity - DHACA · Amount varies

Department of War (Defense Health Agency) Toxic Exposures Research Program Translational Research Award funding research that moves promising military toxic-exposure findings toward clinical applications such as products, interventions, or practice guidelines. Eligibility is listed as unrestricted/open to any entity type subject to clarification in the full notice; a partnering principal investigator option supports two-PI collaborations. No award amount is specified. The stated eligibility is broad.

DARPA - Information Innovation Office · Amount varies

DARPA Information Innovation Office (I2O) office-wide Broad Agency Announcement for advanced information-science research, open to all responsible sources including academia, industry, and the research community. Note this BAA is currently under a temporary pause and is not accepting new abstract submissions until further notice, except from proposers with explicit written government encouragement. No award amount is specified. Eligibility is broad, but the active pause is a key limitation to verify before applying.

National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency · Amount varies

This is a National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency Broad Agency Announcement seeking research on hard geospatial-intelligence problems in foundational GEOINT, advanced phenomenologies, and analytic technologies. Eligibility is open to any responsible source capable of meeting the government's needs, but the work is highly specialized defense/intelligence R&D and proposals are accepted only in response to specific Topic Calls, some of which are classified and require security clearance. No award amounts are stated. This suits research organizations and contractors with relevant technical and security capabilities rather than general nonprofits.

Office of Science · $500K–$16M

The DOE Genesis Mission funds interdisciplinary teams using novel AI models to accelerate scientific discovery in areas like advanced manufacturing, biotechnology, critical materials, nuclear energy, quantum information, and semiconductors. Eligibility is broadly open to any entity type, subject to clarification in the RFA, with Phase I small-team and Phase II large-team awards. Awards are large, roughly $500,000 up to $16 million. It is aimed at research teams able to leverage national-laboratory, industry, and academic resources.

DARPA - Tactical Technology Office · Amount varies

This DARPA Tactical Technology Office Broad Agency Announcement seeks innovative proposals to build, adapt, and sustain defense platforms and systems, in focus areas such as Design/Build/Buy, Surge and Sustain, Long Range Effects, and Disruptive Innovation. Eligibility is broadly open to any responsible source capable of meeting the government's needs, but this is specialized defense R&D. No specific award amount is stated. It suits research organizations and contractors with relevant technical capabilities rather than general nonprofits.

National Institute of Food and Agriculture · $10K–$10M

The USDA AFRI Foundational and Applied Science program funds research, education, and extension projects across six agricultural priority areas. Eligibility is broad and includes universities and colleges, state agricultural experiment stations, research institutions, private organizations or corporations, federal agencies, and U.S.-citizen or permanent-resident individuals; foreign and international organizations are not eligible. Awards range widely from about $10,000 up to $10 million depending on project type. Eligibility for specific grant types varies by program area, so applicants should check the RFA.

National Institute of Food and Agriculture · $10K–$650K

The USDA AFRI Education and Workforce Development program funds projects that develop the next generation of food and agricultural sciences professionals, including K-14 educator development, youth education, community-college training, undergraduate research, and pre/postdoctoral fellowships. Eligibility is broad and includes colleges and universities, experiment stations, research institutions, private organizations, federal agencies, and U.S.-citizen or permanent-resident individuals; foreign and international organizations are not eligible. Awards range from about $10,000 to $650,000. Eligibility varies by project type, so applicants should check the NOFO.

Engineer Research and Development Center · $0–$1B

This Army Corps of Engineers ERDC Broad Agency Announcement is a continuously open call for R&D across many engineering and environmental fields, accepting pre-proposals year-round. Eligibility is broadly open to any entity type, subject to clarification in the solicitation. Award amounts are not meaningfully bounded in this record (the listed range spans from $0 to a placeholder maximum), so applicants should consult the announcement. It suits research organizations, universities, and firms with relevant technical capabilities.

Food and Drug Administration · Up to $250K

An FDA R01 funding safety and effectiveness testing to support approval of drugs for minor uses or minor species (MUMS) in veterinary medicine. Eligibility is limited to entities developing such drugs (or their research partners) that already hold an INAD file and a MUMS designation from FDA/CVM, with a protocol pre-reviewed by FDA, so this requires existing regulatory standing with FDA. Awards reach up to about $250,000. Not a fit unless the applicant is already in the FDA veterinary drug development pipeline.

U.S. National Science Foundation · $100K–$750K

An NSF program funding research on the coupling, energetics, and dynamics of the upper atmosphere, including ground- and space-based observations and modeling. Eligibility is relatively broad: U.S. for-profit organizations including small businesses, nonprofit non-academic research organizations, higher-education institutions, and federally recognized Tribal Nations may apply. Awards run roughly $100,000 to $750,000. While the entity types are broad, the work is specialized atmospheric science suited to research-capable applicants.

Munitions Directorate · Up to $750M

A Department of Defense (Munitions Directorate) Broad Agency Announcement for research on air-delivered effects. Eligible applicants include public and private higher-education institutions, 501(c)(3) nonprofits other than higher-education institutions, and small businesses. The listed maximum is very large, up to about $750,000,000, though actual awards depend on the specific proposal and topic. This is a defense research solicitation requiring relevant technical capability, not a fit for general nonprofits or individuals.

Dept of the Army -- Materiel Command · Amount varies

A U.S. Army (West Point / U.S. Military Academy) Broad Agency Announcement soliciting basic and applied research and analysis across science, engineering, education, policy, ethics, history, and economics. Eligibility is broad, including higher-education institutions, nonprofits, state and local governments, for-profit organizations (large and small businesses), and foreign organizations/public entities, with no restriction on place of performance. No award amount is specified, and funding depends on the specific proposal. Proposals must advance the state of the art or basic knowledge rather than target specific devices.

Food and Drug Administration · $0–$200K

This FDA cooperative agreement (NARMS program) funds work to strengthen antibiotic-resistance surveillance in retail food specimens, expanding detection of resistant bacteria in food and adding new sampling sites. Eligibility is broad: higher education institutions, nonprofits (with or without 501(c)(3) status), for-profit and small businesses, state/local/tribal governments, and faith- or community-based organizations may apply. Foreign (non-U.S.) organizations are not eligible to apply and foreign components are not allowed. Awards run up to about $200,000.

National Institutes of Health · Amount varies

This NIH STTR program (R41/R42) funds U.S. small businesses that partner with a nonprofit research institution to move scientific innovations toward commercialization. Eligibility is limited to U.S. small business concerns as defined by the SBA, and foreign organizations are not eligible. No award amount is listed.

National Institutes of Health · Amount varies

This NIH/CDC/FDA SBIR program (R43/R44) funds U.S. small businesses developing scientific innovations toward commercial products through feasibility and R&D studies. Eligibility is limited to U.S. small business concerns as defined by the SBA, and foreign organizations are not eligible. No award amount is listed.

Dept of the Army -- Materiel Command · Amount varies

This U.S. Army Research Office broad agency announcement funds collaborative research and fellowships in quantum computing and qubit development through the LPS Qubit Collaboratory. Eligibility is broad, including individuals, universities, nonprofits, small businesses, other for-profits, and FFRDCs, with collaboration alongside a government laboratory. No award amount is listed.