Closes in 1 dayALN 81.121
- Award range
- Up to $2M
- Closes
- Oct 9, 2026
- Who can apply
- State governments, Public colleges & universities, Federally recognized tribal governments and 6 more
Grants by applicant type
Federal grants for small businesses
Federal grants for small businesses are narrower than many websites suggest. Most federal programs fund nonprofits, governments and universities; the opportunities below are the ones whose official notice lists small businesses as an eligible applicant type. Research and innovation funding (including SBIR/STTR solicitations posted to Grants.gov) makes up a large share.
GrantsJunction currently lists 375 open and 383 forecasted federal opportunities for small businesses. 40 close within the next 30 days, the next on October 9, 2026. The most active agencies are Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Justice and Department of Energy. The largest listed award ceiling is $200M. 14 require cost sharing.
Counts are calculated from official Grants.gov records as of Oct 8, 2026.
375Open now
383Forecasted
40Closing in 30 days
72Posted in last 30 days
Open and forecasted opportunities
Filter all 758 in search →Closes in 1 dayALN 93.310
Development and Testing of a Multi-use Frameworks Playbook for Precision Medicine with AI: Integrating Imaging with Multimodal Data (PRIMED-AI) (U01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
National Institutes of Health- Award range
- Up to $300K
- Closes
- Oct 9, 2026
- Who can apply
- State governments, County governments, City or township governments and 12 more
Closes in 1 dayALN 93.847
Optimal Treatment Strategies for use of Anti-Obesity Medications (AOMs) in Children and Adolescents Clinical Centers (U01 Clinical Trial Required)
National Institutes of Health- Award range
- Up to $1M
- Closes
- Oct 9, 2026
- Who can apply
- State governments, County governments, City or township governments and 12 more
Closes in 1 dayALN 93.847
Optimal Treatment Strategies for use of Anti-Obesity Medications (AOMs) in Children and Adolescents Research Coordinating Center (U24 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
National Institutes of Health- Award range
- Amount not specified
- Closes
- Oct 9, 2026
- Who can apply
- State governments, County governments, City or township governments and 12 more
ForecastedALN 93.855
Cooperative Program for Modeling Clinical Transplantation
National Institutes of Health- Award range
- Amount not specified
- Est. close
- Oct 9, 2026 (est.)
- Who can apply
- State governments, County governments, City or township governments and 12 more
Closes in 3 daysALN 93.242, 93.279
Addressing Methodological Challenges with Clinical Trials of Rapid-Acting Psychotropic Interventional Drugs (RAPIDs) (R01 Clinical Trial Required)
National Institutes of Health- Award range
- Amount not specified
- Closes
- Oct 11, 2026
- Who can apply
- State governments, County governments, City or township governments and 12 more
ForecastedALN 93.279
NIH Blueprint Initiative: Tools for Germline Gene Editing in the Nervous System
National Institutes of Health- Award range
- Up to $1.2M
- Est. close
- Oct 12, 2026 (est.)
- Who can apply
- State governments, County governments, City or township governments and 12 more
ForecastedALN 93.853
HEAL Initiative: Program to Reveal and Evaluate Cells-to-gene Information that Specify Intricacies, Origins and the Nature of (PRECISION) Human Pain Network
National Institutes of Health- Award range
- Amount not specified
- Est. close
- Oct 12, 2026 (est.)
- Who can apply
- State governments, County governments, City or township governments and 12 more
Closes in 5 daysALN 15.688
F26AS00062: Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration Act FY 2026
Fish and Wildlife Service- Award range
- $2K – $500K
- Closes
- Oct 13, 2026
- Who can apply
- State governments, County governments, City or township governments and 12 more
ForecastedALN 93.372
BRAIN Initiative: Brain-Behavior Quantification and Synchronization – Transformative Research on Behavior at the Organismal Level
National Institutes of Health- Award range
- Amount not specified
- Est. close
- Oct 13, 2026 (est.)
- Who can apply
- State governments, County governments, City or township governments and 12 more
Closes in 6 daysALN 93.394
Assay Validation of High Quality Markers for Clinical Studies in Cancer (UH3 Clinical Trials Not Allowed)
National Institutes of Health- Award range
- Up to $250K
- Closes
- Oct 14, 2026
- Who can apply
- State governments, County governments, City or township governments and 12 more
Closes in 6 daysALN 93.394
Assay Validation of High Quality Markers for Clinical Studies in Cancer (UH2/UH3 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
National Institutes of Health- Award range
- Amount not specified
- Closes
- Oct 14, 2026
- Who can apply
- State governments, County governments, City or township governments and 12 more
Closes in 6 daysALN 93.394
Revision Applications for Validation of Biomarker Assays Developed Through NIH-Supported Research Grants (R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
National Institutes of Health- Award range
- Amount not specified
- Closes
- Oct 14, 2026
- Who can apply
- State governments, County governments, City or township governments and 12 more
Closes in 6 daysALN 93.398
NCI Pathway to Independence Award for Early-Stage Postdoctoral Researchers (K99/R00 - Independent Clinical Trial Required)
National Institutes of Health- Award range
- Amount not specified
- Closes
- Oct 14, 2026
- Who can apply
- State governments, County governments, City or township governments and 12 more
Closes in 6 daysALN 93.398
NCI Pathway to Independence Award for Early-Stage Postdoctoral Researchers (K99/R00 - Independent Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
National Institutes of Health- Award range
- Amount not specified
- Closes
- Oct 14, 2026
- Who can apply
- State governments, County governments, City or township governments and 12 more
Closes in 7 daysALN 93.242
Advancing Research on Empirically-Supported Interventions for Older Adults Living with Serious Mental Illness (SMI) (R01 Clinical Trial Optional)
National Institutes of Health- Award range
- Amount not specified
- Closes
- Oct 15, 2026
- Who can apply
- State governments, County governments, City or township governments and 12 more
Closes in 7 daysALN 93.310, 93.313
Maximizing the Scientific Value of Data Generated by the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program: Dissertation Grant (R36 - Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
National Institutes of Health- Award range
- Amount not specified
- Closes
- Oct 15, 2026
- Who can apply
- State governments, County governments, City or township governments and 12 more
ForecastedALN 93.213
Assessing the Feasibility of Incorporating Mechanisms in Multisite Clinical Trials of Mind and Body Interventions on Whole Person Health Restoration
National Institutes of Health- Award range
- Amount not specified
- Est. close
- Oct 15, 2026 (est.)
- Who can apply
- State governments, County governments, Independent school districts and 8 more
ForecastedALN 93.846, 93.866
Ancillary Studies to Ongoing Clinical Projects (RP1 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
National Institutes of Health- Award range
- Amount not specified
- Est. close
- Oct 15, 2026 (est.)
- Who can apply
- State governments, County governments, City or township governments and 12 more
Closes in 8 daysALN 93.067
Strengthening Ghana Health Service laboratory services, diagnostic networks, and systems for a more effective, efficient, and sustainable response to HIV, TB, and other priority health threats
Centers for Disease Control-GHC- Award range
- Amount not specified
- Closes
- Oct 16, 2026
- Who can apply
- State governments, County governments, City or township governments and 12 more
Closes in 8 daysALN 93.853, 93.855
CCRP Initiative: NIH Countermeasures Against Chemical Threats (CounterACT) Basic Research on Chemical Threats that Affect the Nervous System (R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
National Institutes of Health- Award range
- Up to $300K
- Closes
- Oct 16, 2026
- Who can apply
- State governments, County governments, City or township governments and 12 more
ForecastedALN 93.350
Limited Competition: Small Grant Program for the NCATS Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) Program (Clinical Trial Optional)
National Institutes of Health- Award range
- Amount not specified
- Est. close
- Oct 17, 2026 (est.)
- Who can apply
- State governments, County governments, City or township governments and 12 more
Closes in 11 daysALN 81.049
The DOE Quantum Genesis Q Competition
Office of Science- Award range
- $250K – $200M
- Closes
- Oct 19, 2026
- Who can apply
- For-profit organizations (not small businesses) and Small businesses
Closes in 11 daysALN 93.310
PRIMED-AI: Data-to-Model Academic-Industrial Partnerships (D2M-AIP) for Precision Medicine with AI: Integrating Imaging with Multimodal Data (UG3/UH3 Clinical Trial Optional)
National Institutes of Health- Award range
- Amount not specified
- Closes
- Oct 19, 2026
- Who can apply
- State governments, County governments, City or township governments and 12 more
Agencies with the most opportunities
Also open to small businesses: 206 unrestricted notices
These notices do not restrict applicant type. They may still have other eligibility conditions. Search them together →
- Algebra and Number Theory — U.S. National Science Foundation
- F26AS00062: Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration Act FY 2026 — Fish and Wildlife Service
- DoW Melanoma Research Program Melanoma Academy Scholar Award — Defense Health Agency Contracting Activity - DHACA
- DoW Melanoma Research Program Survivorship Research Award — Defense Health Agency Contracting Activity - DHACA
- DoW Melanoma Research Program Team Science Award — Defense Health Agency Contracting Activity - DHACA
- DoW Melanoma Research Program Focused Program Award – Rare Melanomas — Defense Health Agency Contracting Activity - DHACA
Before you apply
- Register in SAM.gov early — federal applicants need an active registration and a Unique Entity ID (UEI) before they can apply, and registration can take several weeks.
- Many business-focused federal programs are loans, loan guarantees or contracts rather than grants. Grants for general startup or operating costs are uncommon.
- Check the Small Business Administration definition of “small” for your industry; the notice may also restrict ownership or location.
Frequently asked questions
How many federal grants are available for small businesses right now?
As of the latest refresh, 375 opportunities are open for applications and 383 more are forecasted on Grants.gov. 40 of the open opportunities close within 30 days.
Which federal agencies offer the most opportunities for small businesses?
Currently: Department of Health and Human Services (727), Department of Justice (7), Department of Energy (6), Department of Agriculture (5), Department of Commerce (4).
Are these all grants?
Not all. Federal funding notices can be grants, cooperative agreements (grants with substantial agency involvement) or other instruments. Among current opportunities for small businesses: 458 grants, 304 cooperative agreements, 7 others, 1 procurement contract.
Does appearing on this list mean a small business qualifies?
No. These notices list small businesses among the eligible applicant types, but each opportunity can add other requirements — location, size, matching funds, prior registration or program-specific criteria. Review the official notice before applying.
Methodology: This page lists Grants.gov opportunities whose official notice includes the applicant type “Small businesses”. Notices marked “Unrestricted” are open to any entity type and are shown separately below. Appearing on this page does not mean an organization is eligible; review each official notice. See how GrantsJunction sources and labels data.