Small Business Grants in West Virginia

Twenty five days left on the current funding period, and that is the number to plan around. West Virginia reimburses up to 75 percent of approved export costs to a cap of $15,000 per applicant, out of a $325,000 federal STEP award covering October 1, 2024 to September 29, 2026. Approval has to come before the export activity starts, so a trade show you have already booked is not covered. No successor award is announced, so anyone reading this after September 29 should confirm a new period exists before budgeting on it.

Recruiting for the next cohort now, though the money is two different things and only one of them is a grant. The non dilutive technical assistance funding is the grant part, and West Virginia University states it at $10,000 on the parent page and $15,000 on the accelerator page, a conflict we are reporting rather than resolving. The $100,000 people quote is an equity investment from the Vantage Ventures pre seed fund, available only to top graduates. You need at least one equity holding founder resident in West Virginia, a plan to create jobs here and a path to $10 million of annual recurring revenue. Cohorts start in September and January and no application deadline is published.

A credit against tax, never cash, and it only reaches a business in a listed industry. Manufacturing, information processing, warehousing, non retail goods distribution, qualified research, headquarters relocation and destination tourism qualify, and a retailer or a local service business does not. Create fewer than ten jobs and the credit is $3,000 per new full time job for five years, provided the job clears the wage floor and comes with employer provided health insurance. Ten or more jobs moves you to the main tier, which offsets up to 80 percent of the tax attributable to the qualified investment, or 100 percent if your median wage beats the statewide non farm average. Note the state page still prints a 2020 wage floor of $37,950 and says only that it indexes annually, so ask the Tax Department for the current figure.

A tax credit with a bar most small businesses cannot reach. You need at least ten jobs paying 2.25 times the state median salary, filled for at least 48 weeks in the tax year by West Virginia residents, and you must offer health benefits and pay at least half the premium. The $5,000,000 is the statewide annual pool, not an award, and the closely related High Wage Growth Jobs Credit caps an individual refund at $100,000 per taxpayer with a ten year carry forward. You can reapply for up to three successive qualifying periods.

A loan, not a grant, and a narrow one. The West Virginia Economic Development Authority lends $50,000 to $15,000,000 against fixed assets, participating up to 45 percent on real estate and buildings, 40 percent on affixed machinery and 35 percent on special purpose equipment, with 10 to 30 percent equity from you depending on the asset. It will not fund working capital, inventory, refinancing or rolling stock, which rules out most of what a small business actually needs cash for. Any owner of 20 percent or more signs a personal guarantee, your local development authority co signs the application, and the board meets on the third Thursday with applications due by the 15th.