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U.S. Military Veterans can face challenging circumstances readapting to civilian life after finishing their military careers. Many veterans take the skills and discipline they learned in the military and apply them to make their mark in the business world as entrepreneurs. However, veteran-owned and operated businesses can often be underrepresented in regards to finding funding or receiving grants to help build their businesses. Fortunately, there are some great programs and grants that U.S. Military Veterans who own or are starting a small business can take advantage of. In the following article, we will discuss some of the best of these programs and grants.

  • SBA Boots to Business Program

    The U.S. Small Business Administration's (SBA) Boots to Business program is an education and training program aimed at helping veterans and their spouse's transition from life in the military to civilian life as business owners and operators. The program includes an "Introduction to Entrepreneurship" segment in which veterans are introduced to major concepts in business ownership, such as business models, accounting, and other business requirements. The Boots to Business program also offers an additional extended online course called "B2B Revenue Readiness" that is run in collaboration with Mississippi State University.

  • Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Program (SDVOSB)

    Another Small Business Administration program is the Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Program. The federal government sets aside and awards at least 3% of all federal contracting funding to Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses every year. Specific federal contract opportunities are only open to businesses that are a part of the Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business program (SDVOSB). Meaning only participants of the SDVOSB program can compete to win these particular government contracts.

    In order to be eligible for the SDVOSB program, your business must meet certain requirements. The requirements for the SVOSB program include being considered a small business according to the SBA's standards, and the owner must have a military service-related disability. Additionally, the business must be at least 51% owned and controlled by a service-disabled veteran(s). Finally, the business must also have at least one service-disabled veteran involved in managing daily operations and who is also involved in long-term decision making.

  • Warrior Rising Small Business Grants

    Warrior Rising is a non-profit organization that was created to help support U.S. military veterans in their business efforts. Warrior Rising offers a multitude of services and programs, including workshops, training, as well as grants, and loans that can help veterans with business startup costs. Warrior Rising applicants will need to fill out an online application that covers the history of their military service, their business idea, how far along they are in creating their business, and their overall goals. After this step, Warrior Rising will contact applicants and conduct a follow-up phone interview. In this phone interview, the areas of need of the applicant will be discussed, as well as the best course of action is to take regarding the multitude of programs, services, grants, and loans that Warrior Rising offers.

  • Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) and Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Grants and Contracts

    The Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) and Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) programs are two more programs from the SBA that veteran-owned businesses can take advantage of. While the STTR and SBBR grants and contracts are not exclusive to veterans, if a veteran-owned business is involved in conducting research and development (R&D) for the federal government, it may be eligible to receive grants or contracts through the STTR and SBIR. STTR and SBIR grants can provide the funding necessary for small businesses to help conduct R&D for the U.S. government. Contracts are usually more specific as to what the end goal is. However, these contracts can still provide small businesses critical opportunities to participate and innovate in this field while working with the government.

    With this program, the government wants to increase its R&D and remain a world leader in regard to technological innovation while simultaneously calling on the private sector to participate and assist in this effort, therefore helping develop small businesses and stimulating the economy while meeting its R&D and technological innovation goals. Within the program, various governmental organizations accept proposals regarding their R&D needs from qualified businesses. These governmental organizations include the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Energy, the Department of Transportation, the Environmental Protection Agency, NASA, and the National Science Foundation. If a veteran-owned business conducts research and development in fields pertinent to these governmental organizations, the business may be eligible to receive STTR and SBIR grants or contracts from these organizations.

  • StreetShares Foundation Veteran Small Business Award

    The StreetShares Foundation is a non-profit organization whose mission is to help educate, support, and inspire former and transitioning active-duty members of the military and their families that are involved in entrepreneurship and business. The StreetShares Foundation offers grants and other funding resources, educational resources and programs, and entrepreneurial events to help support the small businesses of U.S. military veterans and their families. Spouses and children of veterans who have died while on active duty are also eligible to receive these grants and various other resources.

    Through their Veteran Small Business Award program, The StreetShares Foundation gives out multiple grants of various sizes to winning applicants. As a result of The StreetShares Foundation's efforts, over 5,000 people have gone through their educational programs and their grant recipients, on average, experience a 277% increase in annual gross revenue.

  • Office of Veterans Business Development

    The Office of Veterans Business Development is another segment of the SBA. While it does not offer any grants itself, it can assist veterans in finding grant opportunities and other business development resources. The Office of Veterans Business Development's objective is to increase the availability and accessibility of small business programs intended for Veterans and their families. For example, they can offer assistance to veterans in finding and applying for grants and loans that a veteran-owned business may be eligible for and help with educational materials and services to help support a business at all stages of development. They also have services that are designed to help the surviving families of an active-duty member of the military who has passed away.

In Conclusion

Veterans who are interested in starting a small business or already own a small business but are looking for additional support can take advantage of a variety of programs and grants. These programs and grants are designed to help them succeed and can offer assistance in all stages of business development. The following list contains some of the programs and grants relevant to veteran-owned businesses.

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