The Ignite Grant Program is designed to help women-owned businesses grow. The program offers grants of up to $10,000 to women-owned businesses in the state of Connecticut who have been in business for 2 or more years and have revenues between $25K and $2 million. Since the start of the program, we have distributed 424 grants of over $3.9 million to women-owned businesses in Connecticut. The application period for this grant runs from August 5 through September 16, 2025. You can find additional information on Ignite here.
Our Child Care Business Opportunity Fund, offered in partnership with the Connecticut Office of Early Childhood (OEC), provides grants of up to $25,000 to qualified licensed and aspiring child care businesses. The program offers grants targeting different stages of business, from start-ups to those ready to expand. Since this program was launched in 2020, nearly $8.4 million has been awarded to child care businesses in every corner of Connecticut. The application period for Child Care Business grants runs from August 1 through August 31, 2025. You can find more information on our Child Care Business Opportunity Fund grants here.
Information sessions for both grant programs are scheduled throughout the application periods. These sessions will help applicants understand the grant requirements and provide an opportunity for those interested to ask questions about the grants. Interested applicants can register for a live information session here.