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National Pride Grant for LGBTQIA+ Small Businesses Ongoing
Grantaura Eligibility Checker

Eligibility for National Pride Grant for LGBTQIA+ Small Businesses

Founders First CDC awards $1,000 micro-grants to 25 LGBTQIA+ business owners annually with free accelerator program access.

Amount $1,000
Deadline Periodic check for current cycle
Location United States
Category Grants For For-Profit Businesses
Questions 7 total
Required 7 required
View full grant on Grantaura Updated March 6, 2026 on Grantaura.

The National Pride Grant has clear boundaries. Some founders qualify immediately. Others discover dealbreakers before wasting hours on an application. This page walks through each requirement so you know where you stand. No guessing. No surprises halfway through the form.

You need to identify as LGBTQIA+ and hold the CEO, President, or Owner title. Your business must operate in the United States with 2-100 employees. Annual revenue caps at $5 million. Minimum one year in operation. The employee range expanded from 2-50 to 2-100 in recent cycles. That change matters for growing businesses that aged out of earlier eligibility. Here's what most eligibility pages skip: the accelerator commitment. Recipients must complete 12 weeks of programming. Eight to ten hours per week. That's not optional. Full disbursement depends on program completion. If you can't commit that time, this grant isn't the right fit. But other LGBTQIA+ funding options might be. Ready to check your specific situation? Our interactive tool evaluates each criterion without requiring personal information. Takes about two minutes. You'll know immediately whether to proceed or explore alternatives.

Where Applicants Get Confused

The employee requirement trips people up constantly. Two is the minimum. One hundred is the maximum. If you're at 101, you're out. If you're at one - just yourself - you're also out. This isn't a judgment on solopreneurs. It's simply not what this grant funds. Contractors versus W-2 employees. The official materials don't explicitly specify which counts. The program targets employer-based businesses creating jobs. If your team structure is borderline - say, one full-time employee and several contractors - that's worth clarifying before you invest application time. That's where our eligibility review helps. We've seen enough applications to know which edge cases get approved and which get rejected. Not because we have insider access. Because we've tracked patterns across hundreds of submissions. Unsure whether your situation fits? Submit an assessment and our experts will review your specific circumstances before you apply.

What Happens After You Check Eligibility

If you qualify on paper, the next step isn't rushing to the donor application. Most rejections happen in the narrative - specifically how applicants describe their project impact and answer the four video questions. Our reviewers catch those phrasings before submission. If you don't qualify, that's not the end. The Pride Grant is one program among thousands. Our matching tool can surface grants that fit your specific situation - whether that's a solopreneur-focused award, a different identity-based program, or something else entirely.

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National Pride Grant for LGBTQIA+ Small Businesses

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Eligibility Requirements (Source-Based)

  1. Do you identify as an LGBTQIA+ business owner? Required
    Confidence: H
    Source
  2. Are you the CEO, President, or Business Owner? Required
    Confidence: H
    Source
  3. Is your business based in the United States? Required
    Confidence: H
    Source
  4. How many employees does your business have? Required
    Confidence: H
    Source
  5. What is your annual business revenue? Required
    Confidence: H
    Source
  6. Has your business been operating for at least 1 year? Required
    Confidence: H
    Source
  7. Can you commit 8-10 hours per week for 12 weeks to an accelerator program? Required
    Confidence: H
    Source Source