United States / Funding / By state / Maine
Funding for startups in Maine
Maine runs 7 programmes of its own, and 6 of them take applications right now. The 63 federal programmes further down are open to Maine companies too. We read each one on its official site and note the date we checked.
Run by Maine and local bodies
Business Innovation Funding
Maine Technology Institute · Maine
Maine tech and life-sciences startups can build up to $100,000 in matched innovation grants across three funding tiers.
CEI Business Loans
Coastal Enterprises Inc (CEI) · Maine
A Maine CDFI lends up to $1 million to local businesses for start-up costs, equipment, working capital, or expansion at 6 to 10 percent interest.
Commercial Loan Insurance
Finance Authority of Maine (FAME) · Maine
Maine lenders can get up to 90 percent of a business loan insured by the state, making banks more willing to say yes.
FAME Direct Loan
Finance Authority of Maine (FAME) · Maine
Maine businesses that cannot get financing elsewhere can borrow directly from the state, up to $1 million, at a capped 8 percent rate.
Maine Seed Capital Tax Credit Program
Finance Authority of Maine (FAME) · Maine
Investors in eligible small Maine businesses get a 40 percent state tax credit on their equity investment, up to $500,000 every three years.
Wicked Fast Microloans
Coastal Enterprises Inc (CEI) · Maine
New Maine businesses can get a fast, low-paperwork microloan of up to $15,000 at a fixed 7.25 percent rate.
Maine Venture Fund Equity Investment
Maine Venture Fund · Maine
A Maine-focused venture fund invests directly in high-growth local companies, often alongside other investors.
Want to filter these by amount or stage? Open them in the full directory.
Federal programmes open to Maine businesses
Grants 23
- AFWERX SBIR/STTR & Army xTechup to $15M
- Amber Grant for Womenup to $50k
- ARPA-E
- ARPA-H
- Comcast RISEup to $5k
- DHS SBIRup to $1M
- DoD SBIR/STTRup to $2.15M
- DOE SBIR/STTRup to $2.15M
- ED/IES SBIRup to $1M
- EDA Build to Scale (B2S)up to $5M
- EPA SBIRup to $400k
- Federal and State Technology (FAST) Partnership Program
- FedEx Small Business Grant Contestup to $50k
- NASA SBIR/STTRup to $1.27M
- NIH SBIR/STTRup to $4.19M
- NOAA SBIRup to $690k
- NSF SBIR/STTR — America's Seed Fund powered by NSFup to $1.25M
- Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) — Renewable Energy Systems & Energy Efficiencyup to $25M
- SBA Growth Accelerator Fund Competition (GAFC)up to $200k
- SBIR/STTR (America's Seed Fund)up to $2.15M
- US DOT SBIRup to $200k
- USDA NIFA SBIR
- Value-Added Producer Grant (VAPG)up to $200k
Loans & guarantees 15
- CAPLines (SBA 7(a) Lines of Credit)up to $5M
- CDFI Fund — Certified Community Development Financial Institution Network
- DOE Loan Programs Office (Office of Energy Dominance Financing)
- Export Working Capital Program (EWCP)up to $5M
- International Trade Loan Program (ITL)up to $5M
- Military Reservist Economic Injury Disaster Loan (MREIDL)up to $2M
- SBA 504 Loan Program (CDC/504)up to $5.5M
- SBA 7(a) Loan Programup to $5M
- SBA Community Advantage Loansup to $1M
- SBA Disaster Loans (Physical Damage & Economic Injury)up to $2M
- SBA Microloan Programup to $50k
- SBA-504 and 7(a) Combined Loan Cap ($10M)up to $10M
- EXIM Working Capital Guarantee Programup to $10M
- SBA Surety Bond Guarantee Programup to $14M
- State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI)
Tax benefits 8
- Federal R&D Tax Credit (Section 41)
- New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC)
- QSBS Section 1202 Exclusionup to $15M
- Qualified Opportunity Zones (QOZ)
- R&D Payroll Tax Offset (Qualified Small Business Payroll Tax Credit)up to $500k
- Section 174A Domestic R&D Expensing Restoration
- State R&D Tax Credits (multi-state landscape)
- Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC)up to $2.4k
Equity 7
- 500 Global Flagship Acceleratorup to $150k
- Antler US Residency
- gener8tor Investment Acceleratorup to $100k
- HAXup to $250k
- Neo Accelerator
- Techstars Standard Investment Termsup to $220k
- Y Combinator Standard Dealup to $500k
Support & credits 10
- AWS Activateup to $200k
- Google for Startups Cloud Programup to $350k
- Microsoft for Startupsup to $150k
- MassChallenge Accelerator Programs (Traction & Challenge)
- MBDA Business Center Network
- NIST Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP)
- NVIDIA Inception
- Plug and Play Accelerator Programs
- SBA 8(a) Business Development Program
- Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) Federal Contract Program
The other Maine deadline funders will ask about
Most programmes above ask for financials and a company in good standing. In Maine that means the Annual Report — Due Jun 1 each year. The first report is due between Jan 1 and Jun 1 of the year after formation.
This page exists because Maine has at least 2 verified programmes of its own. See every state, or tell us about a Maine programme we are missing via the contact page.
Funders read the books before the pitch
Every programme on this page asks for financials in a particular shape. We keep Maine books in that shape year-round, so applying is an export rather than a rebuild.