If you have been searching for grants for Black entrepreneurs this fall, you have probably clicked a lot of links that lead to closed pages. That is not your imagination. The landscape shifted, and plenty of roundups online are out of date.

So we did it the slow way. We opened the official page for every program below in late September 2026 and kept only the ones with a live deadline between October and December 2026. A few are built for Black and minority founders. Most are open to everyone or to women-owned businesses, which still makes them real money Black owners can go after today.

Why the list looks different in 2026

In September 2024, Fearless Fund settled a lawsuit from the American Alliance for Equal Rights and permanently closed its Strivers Grant contest, which gave $20,000 to businesses led by women of color, NPR reported. Since then, several race-specific programs have gone quiet or changed their rules.

Here is where some familiar names stand right now:

• The Black Ambition prize says it is not accepting new applications for its 2026 competition.
• The NAACP Powershift Entrepreneur Grant ($25,000) is listed as not currently open.
• The NBA Foundation All-Star Pitch Competition says applications for 2027 will open in the fall, with no date posted yet.

We also looked hard for Black-focused pitch competitions taking applications this quarter and could not verify one with an open October to December 2026 deadline. If you know of one, tell us in the comments and we will check it.

The deadline table: grants for Black entrepreneurs, October to December 2026

Screenshot this one. Monthly programs close on the last day of the month, which means Oct. 31, Nov. 30 and Dec. 31, 2026.

Start with the free ones

Verizon Small Business Digital Ready is the biggest free opportunity on the list. Verizon awards $10,000 grants and selects 10 small businesses each month. To unlock the application, you create a free Digital Ready account and complete any two courses or events, and recorded events count. The course window runs through Dec. 7, 2026. You can submit once and stay eligible for the rest of the year. One catch: if you applied before April 15, 2026, Verizon says you need to submit a new application.

Galaxy Grants is free to apply, open to women and minority entrepreneurs at any stage, and the current $2,500 round closes Oct. 31, 2026, with winners announced the following week.

Shophand’s Small Business Boost pairs $2,500 in cash with $2,500 in services. Round two closes Nov. 30. Read the fine print: applicants must follow Shophand on its social accounts, and the company gives preference to businesses that used its services.

NASE Growth Grants run up to $4,000 and can pay for marketing, part-time help, equipment, a website or training, but not debt or rent. You have to be a member of the National Association for the Self-Employed, and monthly members wait 90 days before they qualify.

For Black women founders: the monthly rotation

If your business is women-owned, four programs give you a fresh shot every month:

• Amber Grant: three $10,000 winners a month, announced by the 21st of the following month. Three $50,000 year-end winners are picked in December and announced in January.
• HerRise MicroGrant: $1,000 a month from HerSuiteSpot, aimed at under-resourced women, including women of color. Winners are announced at its monthly First Friday Mixer, and you do not have to attend.
• Hey Helen: $10,000 to one founder each month. Pre-revenue businesses can apply, but you need a U.S. business bank account that can receive ACH transfers.
• Freed Fellowship: open to any U.S. micro or small business, with women, minority and underrepresented owners encouraged to apply. Monthly winners get $500 and are considered for an extra $2,500 at year end.

Watch the timing. Applications that come in after Hey Helen’s cutoff roll into the next month’s round, while Secretsos applications do not carry over between quarters, so you would reapply.

The fee question, and how to spot a scam

The Federal Trade Commission is blunt about government grants: don’t pay any up-front fees, and the list of federal grants at Grants.gov is free. The FTC also notes the government will not call, text or message you out of nowhere about a grant.

Private contests are different. Some charge a small fee to cover review costs, and that is legal. Just do the math first. Applying to Amber, HerRise, Hey Helen and Freed every month costs $64. Do that for October, November and December and you have spent $192 before a single dollar comes back. Pick the programs that fit your business best instead of entering everything.

Red flags that mean walk away:

• Someone contacts you first and says you already won.
• You are asked to pay with a gift card, wire transfer or crypto.
• They want your Social Security number or bank login before you have applied.

A 20-minute application routine

Most of these forms ask the same things. Build one master document and reuse it:

1. A 100-word description of what you sell and who buys it.
2. Three real numbers: monthly revenue, customers served and people you employ or pay.
3. Exactly how you would spend the money, down to the dollar.
4. One short story about why you started. Reviewers remember people, not jargon.
5. Your EIN, business bank details and a clean photo or logo, ready to upload.

Then set three phone reminders: Oct. 30, Nov. 29 and Dec. 30. Submitting a day early saves you from last-minute site crashes.

Grants are a boost, not a business plan. Pair this list with our Q4 money checklist and get inspired by the owners in our roundup of Black business wins. Deadlines and rules can change, so confirm the details on each official page before you apply.

Related on BCN: Want tips on writing a winning application? Read Small Business Grants for Black Founders: What’s Open in 2026 (and How to Win One).