Microgrant for Technology and Equipment
Application Closed
The goal of the Microgrant for Technology and Equipment is to provide funding for historically underserved, minority-led nonprofits and small businesses to purchase hardware, software, and machinery assets to grow their business.
What can I apply for?
- Grants up to $20,000
- Note: Not all funding requests are fulfilled in the amount requested to maximize the number of businesses served
- Funds can be used to buy technology, equipment, and machinery
- Technology refers to hardware like computers, printers, routers, etc. and software like Microsoft Office, QuickBooks, Square, Shopify, and other computer programs.
- Equipment and machinery refers to fixed assets used in your business, such as furniture, tools, and machines. See a list of our 2022 grantees for examples.
Am I eligible?
To apply, your business or nonprofit must be:
- Owned or led by a person who is one or more of the following:
- Black
- Disabled
- Hispanic/Latino
- LGBTQ+
- Middle Eastern/North African*
- Military veteran
- Native or Indigenous*
- Refugee*
- * New for 2024
- In operation for at least 2 years.
- Earning less than $1M in annual revenue or budget.
- Based in and serving Miami-Dade County.
- Not a prior recipient of the OFB microgrant.
What do I need to apply?
- Complete an application to describe your organization and explain how this purchase would help your company.
- Strong applications include a specific vendor estimate with pricing.
- For nonprofits and small businesses, must share copy of latest financial statement or annual operating budget.
- For small businesses, required documentation also includes:
- Staffing roster.
- Cash flow projections.
- Business tax return.
What is the timeline?
- This is the last year of funding.
- Applications open on March 1, 2024.
- Applications due by the end of the day May 31, 2024.
- Decisions will be shared in July 2024.
What if I need help with my application?
- Reach out to one of the organizations we have partnered with.
- Watch recordings from our past webinars (below) to see what makes a strong application.
How will decisions be made?
- Approximately 40-70 businesses are selected each year.
- The chances of getting accepted are between 20-25%. That means, approximately 1 in 5 applications are selected.
- After the deadline, we review and score applications using the criteria below. Applications that score the highest are funded.
- Owner(s) represent multiple aspects of historical disadvantage
- Employee(s) reflect population of historical disadvantage
- Company provides good or service that benefits the community
- Company has strong financial capacity
- Company has strong operations and organizational capacity
- Company has specific, concrete plans to use funding to transform trajectory
- Company is an employer firm that offers quality jobs
- Company has clear and realistic plans to acquire and deploy asset
- Business is located in target OFB community (specific underserved neighborhoods)