Small Business Grants in North Dakota
The Agriculture Diversification and Development Fund is the biggest thing open here. It pays a value added farm business up to $500,000, it takes applications all year, and the next cutoff for a hearing is October 1.
The Agriculture Diversification and Development Fund is the biggest thing open here. It pays a value added farm business up to $500,000, it takes applications all year, and the next cutoff for a hearing is October 1. The ROOT grant matches up to $5,000 of moving costs per hire, through June 2027. The Technical Skills Training Grant covers training up to $200,000, if you match it dollar for dollar. The Trade Show Participation Grant runs show by show. Everything else here is shut until the 2027 session. Much of what is shut was never open to a business anyway. It pays towns, councils and tribal bodies.
Which North Dakota grants fit your business?
Answer 7 quick questions and we sort the 15 programs on this page into likely fits and long shots. Nothing personal is asked or stored, and final eligibility is always decided by the granting agency.
North Dakota Small Business Grant Programs
State-administered funding programs available to North Dakota small businesses. Verify deadlines directly with the granting agency before applying.
Technical Skills Training Grant
North Dakota Department of Commerce, Workforce Development Division
Up to $200,000 depending on track, 1 to 1 match
RollingA grant a North Dakota business can apply for today. Track A and Track C cap at $200,000, Track B at $100,000, and Track C adds up to $100,000 for an automation feasibility study. Every track wants a dollar from you for each dollar it gives. You must be registered and in good standing with the Secretary of State. The training has to happen in North Dakota. The job has to sit on the state In Demand Occupations List. There is no calendar deadline, applications run through the biennium.
Agriculture Diversification and Development Fund
North Dakota Department of Agriculture
Up to $500,000
Applications all year, quarterly cutoffs, the next is October 1, 2026The biggest grant a North Dakota business can actually apply for. The fund awards up to $500,000 to a value added agriculture business registered with the Secretary of State, or to a North Dakota resident, for work that diversifies a crop or animal industry. Food, feed, pet food and commodity processing, agricultural manufacturing and animal production facilities all qualify. Applications run all year against quarterly cutoffs, and one arriving after a cutoff simply goes to the next meeting, so there is no closed window to miss. The next cutoff is October 1, 2026 and that committee meets in Grand Forks on 18 and 19 November. Only the first 10 eligible applicants in a cycle present in person. Two things rule people out. Majority North Dakota ownership takes priority, and a company from outside the state needs an established North Dakota partner. And the committee will not pay salaries or the operating costs of running a normal business, so the ask has to be the project.
Apply / Learn MoreROOT Grant Program
North Dakota Department of Commerce
Up to $5,000 matched per relocated hire
Deadline Jun 20, 2027Relocation money for the person you just hired, paid to you. An employer is matched up to $5,000 for each candidate who moves to North Dakota. There is another $500 unmatched if the candidate came through the Find the Good Life Candidate Marketplace. The window runs to June 20, 2027 against a $1 million pot, so it will shut early if the money goes. This is one of the few open North Dakota programmes where the business is the applicant.
Apply / Learn MoreTrade Show Participation Grant
North Dakota Department of Agriculture
Covers booth, shipping and travel costs
Rolling, deadlines set per showHelp with showing a North Dakota food or farm product at a trade show out of state. The department covers booth rental, equipment, utilities, promotional material, shipping and travel. It publishes a show by show calendar, and each show has its own deadline. So the date that matters is the one on the show you want. Applications are open now for the listed 2026 and 2027 shows.
Apply / Learn MoreInnovate ND Grant Program
North Dakota Department of Commerce
Up to $50,000 in reimbursable expenses
Closed for the 2025 to 2027 bienniumNorth Dakota's main door for a scalable startup, and it is shut. Innovate ND pays back up to $50,000 of eligible costs, in two phases of $25,000, through three entrepreneur centers. Applications are closed for the 2025 to 2027 budget cycle. The next likely reopening rests on the 2027 legislative session. Retail, hospitality and local service firms cannot apply even when it is open, which catches a lot of people out. One warning. The state's own grant index says $22,500 a business while the programme page says $50,000. Trust the programme page.
Destination Development Grant (DDG)
North Dakota Department of Commerce
Awards of $75,000 to $1.5M in the 2026 round
ClosedFunds the development or expansion of tourism attractions that strengthen North Dakota's economy. Requires a 1-to-1 match (cash or in-kind). For-profit businesses, nonprofits, and tourism entities are eligible.
Native American Small Business Support Program
North Dakota Department of Commerce
$600,000 total, 15 businesses awarded
ClosedClosed and fully awarded. Commerce put $600,000 into 15 Native American owned small businesses and the recipients are named on the programme page. This is one of the few North Dakota programmes where the applicant genuinely was the business rather than a city or a council. No per business award range has ever been published, so treat any range you see elsewhere with suspicion. Awarded funds must be spent by June 30, 2027.
Rural Catalyst Grant
North Dakota Department of Commerce
Up to $500,000 per project
Closed, all funds awardedA small business cannot apply for this one, its city can. The applicant has to be a town, a county, a tribal body or a regional council. The money buys projects in places of 4,500 people or fewer, and half the pot is held back for places of 1,500 or fewer. Up to $500,000 per applicant, against a one to one match from outside the state. The window is closed. $2.5 million was set aside for July 2025 to June 2027, and spending has to finish by June 30, 2027.
Autonomous Agriculture Grant Program
North Dakota Department of Commerce
$7.5M, awarded as two grants in 2025
ClosedFinished, and it was never a small business award. The $7.5 million went out as two grants, $7 million to Grand Farm and $500,000 to Greenfield Robotics. Both got 93 percent of what they asked for. The programme page is now just an awards notice, with no window, no deadline and no application link. Commerce's own grant index still advertises it as seeking proposals of up to $7,500,000. That index is where a lot of stale listings come from, ours included.
Rural Grocery Store Sustainability Grant
North Dakota Department of Commerce
Up to $150,000 per rural applicant
Deadline Sep 4, 2025A rural grocery store owner cannot apply for this, and that is the fact worth carrying away. The applicant has to be a town, a regional council or a tribal body. The town applies and the store benefits. The cap is $150,000 per applicant, the $1 million pot is fully committed and the window is closed. Read the state page with care. It carries a closed banner and, right beneath it, old text still inviting 2025 applications.
Operation Intern
North Dakota Department of Commerce, Workforce Development Division
Up to $5,000 per intern, $25,000 per round
WaitlistA one for one match on what you pay an intern, and every dollar for this year has gone. New submissions join a waitlist, in case an awardee does not use its award. The caps are worth knowing before you plan around it. $5,000 an intern, $25,000 a round, $50,000 a biennium, five interns a round, two rounds a biennium. It targets energy, advanced manufacturing, value added agriculture, tourism, technology and autonomous systems employers.
Federal Grant Programs
These federal programs are available to small businesses in every state.
SBA 7(a) Loan Program
The SBA's primary lending program guarantees loans through participating lenders. This is a loan, not a grant. But the terms favor small businesses that may not qualify for conventional financing.
Learn moreSBA Microloan Program
Loans up to $50,000, not grants. You borrow from a nonprofit lender near you, not from the SBA itself. The money can cover working capital, inventory, supplies or equipment. Most people get far less than the cap. The average microloan is about $13,000.
Learn moreSBIR/STTR Grants
Competitive federal grants for small businesses doing research and development with commercial potential. Eleven federal agencies take part. Phase I funds proof of concept. Phase II funds full development.
Learn moreMinority Business Development Agency (MBDA) Programs
Help for minority owned businesses that need capital, contracts or new markets. MBDA runs business centers around the country. They give advice, help with bids, and point you toward lenders.
Learn moreThe calendar explains more than the list. Here is every North Dakota state program on this page, plotted against the two year funding cycle it sits inside, with the one open window in gold.
Get Grant-Ready
Before you apply, most North Dakota grant programs expect these basics to be in place.
Form your business entity
Most North Dakota grant programs require applicants to be a registered LLC, corporation, or nonprofit. If you haven't formed yet, that's the first step.
$39 + state fee. Includes registered agent, business address, and more.
Get your EIN
An Employer Identification Number is free from the IRS and required on nearly every grant application. You can apply online and receive it immediately.
Open a business bank account
Grant funds need to go into a dedicated business account, not your personal checking. Most agencies will ask for your banking details on the application.
Mercury is a fintech company, not an FDIC-insured bank. Banking services provided through Choice Financial Group and Column N.A., Members FDIC.
Grants by Business Type
Targeted programs for specific business owners in North Dakota.
Technology/Innovation Business Grants
Innovate ND is the main door for a startup that wants to scale, and it is shut until 2027. The state votes on the next two year budget then, and that vote decides whether it comes back. It pays back up to $50,000 in two stages when it runs. Retail, hotels and local service firms are never eligible, which catches people out. For now the Technical Skills Training Grant is open and will pay to train a technical team.
- ›Innovate ND Grant Program
- ›Technical Skills Training Grant
Agriculture Business Grants
Agriculture is where the open money is. The ADD fund awards up to $500,000 to a value added farm business. It takes applications all year and the next cutoff is October 1, 2026. Only the first 10 in a cycle present to the board in person, and a form that misses a cutoff is heard at the next meeting. The Trade Show Participation Grant covers booth, shipping and travel for showing a North Dakota product out of state. Each listed show carries its own deadline.
- ›Agriculture Diversification and Development Fund
- ›Trade Show Participation Grant
Rural Business Grants
Rural money here goes to towns, and the company is almost never the applicant. A town, a regional council or a tribal body applies for the Rural Catalyst Grant and the Rural Grocery Store programme. Both are closed and fully committed. A rural founder is better served by the workforce programmes, and by the ROOT grant, which matches the cost of moving staff into the state.
- ›Rural Catalyst Grant
- ›Rural Grocery Store Sustainability Grant
Minority-owned Business Grants
The Native American Small Business Support Program put $600,000 into 15 firms, and that round is closed. Owners had to hold at least 51 percent and stay under 500 staff. Commerce never published what a single award was worth, so ignore any figure that claims one. The money has to be spent by June 30, 2027.
- ›Native American Small Business Support Program
- ›NDDOT DBE Certification
Women-owned Business Grants
North Dakota runs no women only grant. The North Dakota Women's Business Center is one of the three Innovate ND centres. It coaches people through the same schemes everyone else uses, and it keeps track of private grants as they open.
- ›North Dakota Women's Business Center
- ›ND SBDC
Veteran-owned Business Grants
There is no veteran only grant here. The Veteran Business Outreach Center of the Dakotas at UND gives free advice on funding and on filling in the forms. Veterans apply to the same state schemes as everyone else.
- ›VBOC of the Dakotas
- ›ND SBDC
Tips for Applying in North Dakota
Increase your chances of approval with these state-specific tips.
- 1Time your application to the budget cycle. The state funds these schemes in two year blocks. By the second summer most of the money is spoken for, so the first half of an odd numbered year is the best time to ask.
- 2File early for the ADD fund. Only the first 10 in a cycle present to the review board, so where you sit in the queue is part of the scoring in practice.
- 3Call the ND SBDC first (https://und.edu/ndsbdc/). Advising is free and private, and the office has seen the scoring sheets that decide your application.
- 4Read who applies before you read the amount. Several of the biggest numbers on this page belong to schemes where a town, a regional council or a tribal body files the form, and a business can only gain second hand.
- 5Expect a match. The Technical Skills Training Grant wants $1 from you for every $1 it gives, and the ROOT relocation grant is a match too.
State Economic Development Agency
North Dakota Department of Commerce
Commerce runs close to 50 schemes and services for business, for workforce and for community development across the state. It is the first office to ring about any of them.
Funding While You Wait
Grant applications in North Dakota can take weeks or months to process. These options can bridge the gap.
Grants in Other States
All state grant guidesFrequently Asked Questions
The Agriculture Diversification and Development Fund, the ADD fund, pays a value added farm business up to $500,000. It takes applications all year and the next cutoff is October 1, 2026. The ROOT grant matches up to $5,000 per hire you move here, and runs to June 20, 2027 or until its $1 million pot is gone. The Technical Skills Training Grant pays for training up to $200,000. The Trade Show grant is open too, show by show.
Because North Dakota funds these schemes in two year blocks, and the money for this one is spent. The programme page says the application period is closed. What decides the next round is the 2027 vote on the budget, not a monthly check of the page. Worth knowing for when it returns. It pays back up to $50,000, in two stages of $25,000, and retail, hotels and local service firms cannot apply.
Because most of the state grant money is not aimed at businesses. The Rural Catalyst Grant, the Rural Grocery Store grant and the Talent Pipeline Fly In grant each name a town, a regional council or a tribal body as the one who applies. So a rural grocer cannot apply for the grocery scheme. The town applies and the shop gains. We list them because people search for them by name, and we say who applies so nobody wastes a week on the wrong form.
Not an open one today. Innovate ND was that scheme and it is shut until at least 2027. What is left is workforce money, the Technical Skills Training Grant to train people and the ROOT grant to move a hire into the state, plus Operation Intern once its waiting list clears. The state also runs Angel Match and Advance ND, but those buy a stake or lend, they do not grant.
It is fully awarded. The Destination Development Grant put $4 million of a $15 million two year pot into eight awards, chosen from 103 bids across 61 towns. Businesses did win. The published awards run from $75,000 to $1.5 million and include a winery and a market, so this is not a scheme that only pays towns. Commerce says any next round waits on the 2027 spring session.
Usually yes. The IRS says a government grant to a business generally is not excluded from gross income, so it is taxable. Plan for the ADD fund in particular. It pays for a project rather than paying back a bill you have already met, so there is no cost to set against it. It is not a rule, so ask your accountant. Borrowed money is different, a loan is not income when you take it.
About the Author
Senior Finance & Banking Editor
Richard is the veteran anchor of the site's financial content. Raised in the Midwest and starting his career in Chicago's commercial banking sector, he spent over a decade underwriting small business loans before moving into financial journalism. He doesn't get swept up in startup hype; he cares about unit economics, APYs, and fee structures.
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Grant programs change frequently. Deadlines, eligibility requirements, and funding amounts listed here may be outdated. Always verify information directly with the granting agency before applying. This page is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or legal advice.
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