United States / Funding / By state / Ohio
Funding for startups in Ohio
Ohio runs 11 programmes of its own, and 7 of them take applications right now. The 63 federal programmes further down are open to Ohio companies too. We read each one on its official site and note the date we checked.
Run by Ohio and local bodies
ECDI Small Business Loans
Economic and Community Development Institute (ECDI) · Ohio
Microloans up to $50,000 for Ohio small businesses, or $30,000 for early-stage ones, with flexible terms and no credit-score floor to inquire.
Innovation Ohio Loan Fund (IOF Loan)
JobsOhio · Ohio
Loans of $500,000 to $1.5 million, covering up to 75% of project costs, for Ohio companies with two-plus years selling a proven product.
JobsOhio Small Business Grant
JobsOhio (via regional network partners) · Ohio
JobsOhio's small-business capital grant for fixed-asset investment, equipment, and training, delivered through regional development partners rather than a direct state application.
JobsOhio Ventures
JobsOhio · Ohio
JobsOhio co-invests alongside a qualified lead investor in Series A and later rounds for Ohio healthcare and enterprise-tech companies.
Minority Business Direct Loan Program
Minority Business Development Division, Ohio Department of Development · Ohio
Fixed 1.5% loans up to $1.5 million for certified minority-owned Ohio businesses, three years or older, buying equipment or real estate.
R1 Capital (Rev1 Ventures)
Rev1 Ventures / R1 Capital · Ohio
Equity checks of $250,000 to over $1 million for pre-seed and seed startups, mainly in Columbus, building software or life-science products.
TechGROWTH Ohio
TechGROWTH Ohio (Ohio University) · Ohio
Seed-stage investment and venture development services for tech startups in Ohio University's 19-county southeastern Ohio service area.
JumpStart Trailblazer HealthTech Accelerator
JumpStart Inc. · Ohio
Free professional services worth up to $50,000 for Ohio healthtech startups with an MVP planning to raise venture capital within a year.
Stark Impact Program
JumpStart Inc. · Ohio
A 12-week program and pitch competition for Stark County businesses earning over $100,000 a year, with up to $10,000 in prizes.
Technology Validation and Start-Up Fund (TVSF) - Phase 2 Start-Up Fund
Ohio Third Frontier, Ohio Department of Development · Ohio
Grants up to $200,000 for Ohio startups licensing patented technology from an Ohio university or research lab to reach market.
Trailblazer Software Accelerator
JumpStart Inc. · Ohio
Free professional services worth up to $50,000 for Ohio software startups with an MVP planning to raise venture capital within a year.
Want to filter these by amount or stage? Open them in the full directory.
Federal programmes open to Ohio 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 Ohio deadline funders will ask about
Most programmes above ask for financials and a company in good standing. In Ohio that means the annual report — No Secretary-of-State periodic report exists for Ohio LLCs. ORC Chapter 1706 (Ohio Revised Limited Liability Company Act) covers formation, articles of organization/amendment, statements of authority, and dissolution only — it contains no recurring compliance filing.
This page exists because Ohio has at least 2 verified programmes of its own. See every state, or tell us about a Ohio 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 Ohio books in that shape year-round, so applying is an export rather than a rebuild.