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Small business funding in Massachusetts
Massachusetts spreads its business funding across half a dozen agencies that mostly do not talk to each other. The Massachusetts Office of Business Development handles the Economic Development Incentive Program and the Vacant Storefront credits, both decided by the Economic Assistance Coordinating Council on a quarterly calendar. MassDevelopment runs the capital-side programs: Brownfields, PACE financing, the manufacturing energy collaborative and, when it reopens, Biz-M-Power. Commonwealth Corporation administers the Workforce Training Fund, which nearly every for-profit employer in the state is already paying into through unemployment insurance. The Department of Agricultural Resources runs its own annual grant cycle for farms and food businesses, and the Mass Save sponsors (Eversource, National Grid, Cape Light Compact) pay for equipment upgrades that most owners never claim.
The pattern that catches people is the calendar. Most of these programs run in rounds, with application windows of a few weeks that open once a quarter or once a year, and the state does not send reminders. A program that is closed today is usually not gone; it is between rounds. The list below is a sample of what the database holds for Massachusetts. The rest are matched to your business after you tell us what you do and where you are.
Programs for Massachusetts businesses
Commonwealth Corp Workforce Training Fund — Express Program
The Workforce Training Fund's Express Program reimburses Massachusetts employers for approved employee training, up to $15,000 per company each calendar year. Reimbursement is capped at $300 per instructional hour and $3,000 per employee per course.
Massachusetts Economic Development Incentive Program (EDIP)
State tax credits of roughly $10,000 to $15,000 per new full-time job, lifted for Gateway Cities, rural towns and priority sectors, and refundable if the award exceeds what you owe. The EACC votes quarterly; applications close about six weeks before each meeting.
Massachusetts Vacant Storefront Program (MVSP)
Refundable credits of up to $50,000 per municipality for a business that fills a storefront empty for six months or more. The town applies, not the business, so the first call is to your municipal planning or economic development office.
Santander X Cultivate Small Business Program and Grants
A free 12-week business program for early-stage food businesses, taught virtually by Babson College faculty, with grants of $2,500 guaranteed on completion and up to $20,000 for selected participants. Aimed at founders in low-to-moderate income neighborhoods. Applications open in the fall.
MassDEP Commercial Refrigeration Grant
MassDEP reimburses retail food businesses that install ultra-low-GWP refrigeration, up to $150,000 for conversions ($200,000 in environmental justice communities). First come, first served until the pool runs out.
more active programs for Massachusetts businesses, including 47 grants, 8 tax credits, 11 loans and financing, 13 rebates and 34 free resources and technical assistance. Tell FundBug what you do, where you are and who owns the business, and twice a month you get a digest of the ones you actually qualify for, with deadlines before they pass.
See what your business qualifies for →Common questions
Are there grants for small businesses in Massachusetts?
Yes, though most state grants are aimed at a purpose rather than at businesses in general: hiring and training (the Workforce Training Fund), farm and food infrastructure (MDAR), energy equipment (Mass Save), and site cleanup (Brownfields). General-purpose cash grants are rarer and usually come from corporate or nonprofit programs that Massachusetts businesses can also apply to.
What is the easiest Massachusetts program to qualify for?
For any employer with W-2 staff, the Workforce Training Fund Express Program reimburses up to $15,000 a year for approved training courses, applications are rolling, and eligibility is close to automatic for for-profit businesses with 100 or fewer Massachusetts employees.
Do I need to be in a Gateway City?
No, but it helps for some programs. EDIP awards are larger in Gateway Cities, rural areas and small towns, and the Housing Development Incentive Program is limited to Gateway Cities. Most other programs are statewide.
How does FundBug know which programs are actually open?
Every program in the database is checked against the administering agency's own page, not news coverage or aggregator listings, and rechecked on a schedule. Programs that have closed a round are marked as between rounds rather than dropped.
Stop finding out too late. Programs in Massachusetts open and close on their own schedules, and nobody sends a reminder. FundBug does.
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