Our framework
The Three-Layer Map
Small business funding comes from three layers, and knowing which one you're looking at tells you whether you can even apply. Here's the map, plus three quick tests to run before you invest an hour.
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Layer 1 — Private grants (apply directly)
Corporate and foundation money you can apply for yourself: Verizon Digital Ready, the Amber Grant, NASE, and programs you find through platforms like Hello Alice. Competitive, cyclical, and the most accessible cash for an ordinary business.
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Layer 2 — Public money (through an intermediary)
Government dollars that almost never come to you directly: CDBG through city hall, USDA RBDG through economic-development orgs, SBIR for R&D firms only. The move is to find the local door, not fill out a federal form.
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Layer 3 — Local & pattern-based
Facade and Main Street grants, chamber and community-foundation rounds, bank and utility foundations. No national list — only the sponsoring organization's own current-year page counts as live.
You don’t have to track every grant on the internet — you have to know which of three layers a program lives in, because each layer decides whether you can apply at all. The Three-Layer Map above is that lens. Three tools go with it:
The Green-Light Test — should I apply?
Three checks before you spend an hour: (1) Is the money actually a grant (not a loan, a course, or an equity investment)? (2) Are you eligible as-is (right business type, location, owner criteria)? (3) Is the cycle actually open on the funder’s own page right now? Three greens, go.
The Grant-Ready Stack — do I have the basics?
The reusable kit: a state registration (if you’ve formed an entity), a free EIN, a business bank account, a recent tax return or P&L, a use-of-funds statement, and a two-paragraph story. Federal money adds a free SAM.gov / UEI — but only when a federal program is actually in your sights.
The Live-or-Dead Check — is it still real?
Business-grant aggregators are notoriously stale. A program is live only if the funder’s own current-year page shows an open window with this year’s dates — never trust a listicle. See what’s dead or misfiled, and remember: no legitimate grant charges a fee to “release” your money.
Next step
Get matched when we launch
Stalwell + Amivale is launching soon. Join the waitlist and we'll match your small businesses to funding the day it opens — no spam, one email.