The Bexar County Small Business Assistance program will provide grants to micro and small business owners who have been impacted by the pandemic. The program, funded by Bexar County and administered by LiftFund, has dedicated $10,000,000 Million in funding to support for-profit small businesses with grants up to $50,000.
The grants will range from $10,000 to $50,000 to eligible small, for-profit businesses.
The funds must be used for business-related expenses, including payroll, working capital, business rent, inventory, supplies, equipment, and other operating costs.
Grant amount will not exceed 2019 gross sales.
The following limitations apply:
To be eligible for this program, businesses must:
Applications will not be considered on a first come, first served basis. Applications with the highest score based on the methodology below will be considered and funded first.
Ownership | 18 Max Points |
Veteran Owned | 6 |
Women Owned | 6 |
Minority Owned | 6 |
Geography | 12 Max Points |
Located in Unincorporated/Suburban City Business Location | 12 |
Not Located in Unincorporated/Suburban City Business Location | 0 |
Application Period: January 3 @ 10 am – January 20 @ 5 pm.
Applicants will be able to save their progress during the application period. Applications must be completed and submitted along with all the documentation required for verification before 4:59:59 PM CST on Friday January 20, 2023.
Applicants will receive a confirmation email when they submit the application.
Application review: January 30- May 1, 2023
The grants team will reach out to applicants by phone or email if additional documents or clarification is needed. If additional documents are requested, applicants will have 5 business days to submit.
Award notifications: March 30- June 30, 2023
Eligible applicants with the highest scores based on the methodology above will be notified earlier within the award notification time frame, followed by lower scoring applicants. All applicants, even if ineligible or not selected for funding, will be notified by June 30.
Selected recipients will be notified of approval and prompted to accept the grant via an emailed DocuSign form.
Grant disbursements: April 7– June 23, 2023
Eligible applicants with the highest scores based on the methodology above will be funded earlier within the grant disburesement time frame, followed by lower scoring applicants.
All recipients will be required to complete follow-up surveys in May 2024 and May 2025. Grant recipients must keep detailed receipts for expenditure of grant funds.
Need Assistance with CPS or SAWS Payment Options?
Other Local Resources
Grants
Impacto Grant (Latinx owned, food industry businesses)
Women Founders Network (Women-owned businesses)
Amber Grants (For women only)
National Black MBA Association (Black owned businesses)
GrantWatch (Tracks grants for veterans)
Halstead Grant (Female entrepreneurs in jewelry industry)
IdeaCafe Grant (Preference for women)
EBay Up and Running (Business owners who sell on Ebay)
Visa MENA She’s Next Grant Program (Female, Middle Eastern, North African business owners)
Tandy Leather Together Foundation (Businesses in the leather industry who are Tandy Leather customers)
Yes, as long as your business is registered with a DBA.
No, your business must be physically located in the county.
No, you may only submit an application for one of your businesses.
You are welcome to get assistance in completing the application from a third party, however, the business owner should submit their own application and the contact info listed should be for the owner.
Visit our Partners page to view organizations that have been vetted and trained to assist business owners to submit the application free of charge. Do not pay a third party who is not on the list for application assistance.
If you reported income from your current business on your 2019 schedule C, you may file a DBA at this time and be considered.
You will be asked to submit a current business utility bill as part of the application.
You can submit a copy of your business lease agreement.
You can contact the LiftFund Grants Team at 800-923-9551. For in-person application assistance, please contact one of the community navigators to schedule an appointment.
Yes. LiftFund will issue a 1099 in January 2024.