United States / Funding / By state / Rhode Island
Funding for startups in Rhode Island
Rhode Island runs 15 programmes of its own, and 10 of them take applications right now. The 63 federal programmes further down are open to Rhode Island companies too. We read each one on its official site and note the date we checked.
Run by Rhode Island and local bodies
Breakthrough Lab (B-Lab) Summer Accelerator
Nelson Center for Entrepreneurship, Brown University · Rhode Island
An 8-week Brown University summer accelerator paying student founders a $4,000 fellowship plus mentoring and co-working space.
Brown Venture Prize
Nelson Center for Entrepreneurship, Brown University · Rhode Island
A $50,000 total prize pool for Brown University student ventures with demonstrated traction and growth potential.
Hazeltine Grants
Nelson Center for Entrepreneurship, Brown University · Rhode Island
$500 to $1,000 equity-free grants for Brown University students building engineering or technology projects.
Providence Business Loan Fund — Microenterprise Loan Program
City of Providence, administered by the Providence Business Loan Fund · Rhode Island
Loans of $5,000 to $50,000 for small, established Providence microenterprises owned by low- to moderate-income residents.
Providence Business Loan Fund — Small Business Loan Program
City of Providence, administered by the Providence Business Loan Fund · Rhode Island
Secured loans of $50,000 to $500,000 for Providence businesses that commit to creating or retaining jobs.
SEG Loan Fund
Social Enterprise Greenhouse · Rhode Island
Loans of $10,000 to $25,000 with no traditional collateral required, for established Rhode Island social enterprises ready to expand.
Slater Technology Fund
Slater Technology Fund · Rhode Island
Rhode Island's most active seed-stage investor, providing early equity capital to local software, energy, and life-sciences startups.
Small Business Assistance Program (SBAP)
Rhode Island Commerce Corporation · Rhode Island
Loans from $1,000 to $750,000 for Rhode Island small businesses that can't get conventional bank credit, arranged through state-approved lender partners.
Small Business Loan Fund (SBLF)
Rhode Island Commerce Corporation · Rhode Island
Direct loans of $100,000 to $500,000 for established Rhode Island manufacturing and processing businesses expanding operations.
State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) — Loan Participation Program
Rhode Island Commerce Corporation, loans issued via lender partners RI Capital Corporation, Nectar Community Investments, Southeastern Economic Development Corporation, and BDC of Rhode Island · Rhode Island
State-backed loan participations for Rhode Island small businesses, arranged through four approved community lenders from a shared SSBCI-funded pool.
Innovation Voucher Program
Rhode Island Commerce Corporation · Rhode Island
Up to $75,000 for a Rhode Island business to partner with a local university or research institution on R&D toward a new product or process.
Rhode Island Business Competition
RI Business Competition · Rhode Island
An annual pitch competition awarding a shared prize pool of over $100,000 in cash and services to Rhode Island's most promising early-stage companies.
Invention Incentive Program
Rhode Island Commerce Corporation · Rhode Island
Up to $5,000 reimbursement for patent legal and filing fees for Rhode Island inventors and small businesses, once per applicant.
Local Agriculture and Seafood Act (LASA) Grants Program
Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) · Rhode Island
Grants up to $20,000 for Rhode Island farmers, fishers, and food businesses to grow, develop, or market local food and seafood.
SEG Microgrant Fund
Social Enterprise Greenhouse · Rhode Island
Up to $5,000 in non-repayable grants for Rhode Island social entrepreneurs who have completed an SEG program, for early one-off project costs.
Want to filter these by amount or stage? Open them in the full directory.
Federal programmes open to Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island deadline funders will ask about
Most programmes above ask for financials and a company in good standing. In Rhode Island that means the Annual Report — Filing window: February 1 to May 1 each year, starting the calendar year after registration.
This page exists because Rhode Island has at least 2 verified programmes of its own. See every state, or tell us about a Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island books in that shape year-round, so applying is an export rather than a rebuild.