What Small Business Grants and Loans Are Available in Houston Right Now
A neighborhood-by-neighborhood look at City of Houston OBO, Harris County, and local CDFI money — with dollar amounts, deadlines, and the documents you need before you make a single call.
A neighborhood-by-neighborhood look at City of Houston OBO, Harris County, and local CDFI money — with dollar amounts, deadlines, and the documents you need before you make a single call.
If you own a small business in Houston and you’re looking for capital right now, the worst place to start is a generic Google search. You’ll get SBA.gov links, national aggregators, and advice written for businesses in Tulsa or Tampa. What you actually need is a map of the programs that serve your zip code, an honest accounting of which windows are open, what the money pays, and what disqualifies an application before a reviewer ever reads it.
This guide covers only programs administered by or through the City of Houston, Harris County, Greater Houston Community Foundation, and local CDFIs with active Houston deployments. It does not link you to generic federal databases and tell you to figure it out. Timelines are built into every section because application windows in this market close faster than most business owners expect — sometimes within six weeks of opening. I’ve watched people miss Harvey-era windows because they heard about them from a neighbor a week too late.
One critical step on verification: program parameters, especially for CDBG-DR disaster recovery funds, can shift between when a grant is announced and when applications actually open. Every section below names the specific office to call or the specific website to check. That direct contact is not optional. It’s the first step. No exceptions.
The Beryl Recovery Money Is the Biggest Active Pool Right Now
Hurricane Beryl made landfall on July 8, 2024. The federal disaster declaration that followed triggered the Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery program, universally referred to as CDBG-DR. CDBG-DR works like this: Congress appropriates supplemental money for HUD after a major disaster, HUD allocates it to states, and the state — in Texas, that’s the General Land Office — distributes it through local governments. Harris County Community Services Department administers the Harris County allocation.
CDBG-DR matters for Houston small businesses because of scale. Post-disaster CDBG-DR business assistance programs have historically distributed larger sums than OBO’s annual budget and more than any individual CDFI’s Houston deployment. Harris County received substantial CDBG-DR allocations following Hurricane Harvey, with business-assistance components running into significant sums. The Beryl allocation is expected to follow a similar structure — though I’d note that “expected to” is doing a lot of work in this funding environment, and you should verify before you count on anything.
As of mid-2026, Beryl CDBG-DR funds should be in active disbursement or in the final stages of application intake. The timeline depends on when the GLO completed its Action Plan review and HUD issued its environmental review clearances — a process that moves at its own pace, regardless of how urgently businesses need the money. Verify this directly with Harris County CSD and the Texas General Land Office disaster recovery programs before assuming the window is open.
CDBG-DR business programs require documented, Beryl-attributable damage or economic loss. You’ll need proof that your business was operating before July 8, 2024. You’ll also need evidence of physical damage or verified revenue loss tied to the storm and the extended power outages that followed — and if you remember those outages, you know “extended” is an understatement — plus proof of location within the program’s coverage area. Programs also require that your business couldn’t access sufficient conventional financing to cover the loss. Verify specific documentation requirements, size thresholds, and award ranges directly with Harris County CSD, as these parameters are set program-by-program and can change.
What to do right now: Call Harris County Community Services Department’s economic development division. Ask specifically whether the Beryl CDBG-DR small business application is open, what the award range is, and whether a waitlist is being maintained. Check the Texas GLO website’s disaster recovery section, where Action Plans and program guidelines are posted publicly. Do not rely on secondhand information for CDBG-DR status. The application window will not stay open once funds are committed.
City of Houston OBO — What’s Open, What It Pays, and Who Qualifies
The Office of Business Opportunity sits inside the City of Houston administration and operates on a fiscal year that runs October 1 through September 30. That timing matters because the programs that open in fall 2026 will draw from FY2027 allocations — which affects both the dollar amounts available and the application timeline. It’s the kind of detail that sounds bureaucratic until you realize it explains why calling OBO in August sometimes gets you a “not yet” that turns into a “yes, now” six weeks later.
OBO’s core direct-assistance mechanism for small businesses has been the Small Business Development Program. It has historically offered technical assistance and micro-grant components for qualifying Houston businesses. The program targets job retention and creation and requires that funds be used for specific purposes: equipment, inventory, leasehold improvements. Debt service doesn’t qualify — so if you’re hoping to use a grant to catch up on a loan, that’s not this program. Businesses must demonstrate that the assistance will have a measurable economic impact. Verify with OBO directly whether a grant window is currently open for FY2026, what the current award range is, and what revenue caps apply.
OBO has also operated Emergency Assistance Fund components tied to specific economic recovery priorities. After Hurricane Harvey and again post-COVID, OBO activated an Emergency Assistance Fund for businesses within Houston city limits with documented losses. Whether any successor window is active or was opened following Beryl depends on whether the city received additional recovery allocations. Ask that question when you call.
OBO manages the city’s EBE (Emerging Business Enterprise), MBE (Minority Business Enterprise), and WBE (Women Business Enterprise) certification programs. These are not grants. They’re contractor preference designations that matter significantly if your business bids on city contracts. The EBE certification has historically carried an annual revenue cap — verify the current threshold directly with OBO. If you’re a Houston-based minority- or women-owned business that does or wants to do business with the city, getting certified is worth the administrative effort. Don’t confuse certification with a grant application. They’re separate processes with separate forms, separate documentation, and separate benefits. I’ve talked to business owners who assumed one led automatically to the other. It doesn’t.
Geography matters here more than most business owners realize. OBO serves businesses within Houston’s city limits, and Houston’s city limits are not synonymous with Harris County. The city limit boundary cuts through several commercial corridors in ways that aren’t intuitive — the kind of thing that only becomes obvious when you’re already deep into an application. Businesses in Gulfton, Fifth Ward, the East End along Navigation Boulevard, and the Harwin corridor generally fall within city limits and are OBO-eligible. Businesses in Pasadena, Channelview, Humble, Galena Park, and unincorporated sections of west Harris County are not. They need the Harris County programs described in the next section. If you’re not certain which side of the line you’re on, look up your address on the City of Houston’s online GIS viewer or call OBO directly and ask before you spend time on an application.
The OBO Document Checklist
Incomplete applications are the most common reason OBO applications are rejected or delayed. Gather every item on this list before you log into the OBO portal. Having a document missing at the time of submission — even something that seems minor, like a missing page of a tax return — typically results in a status of “incomplete” that requires resubmission rather than a simple correction. Resubmission puts you behind other applicants in queue. That’s a race you don’t want to fall back in.
- Texas Secretary of State business registration (or DBA filing with Harris County Clerk if sole proprietor)
- Federal tax returns for the two most recent complete tax years — all schedules, all pages; business returns if incorporated, Schedule C if sole proprietor
- Three consecutive months of business bank statements (most recent three months available)
- Proof of Houston business address — lease agreement, utility bill, or mortgage statement in the business’s name at the business location
- Government-issued photo ID for every owner holding 20% or greater stake
- NAICS code documentation — your current NAICS code and, if relevant, documentation that your business activity matches the code you’re claiming
- Demographic ownership records for MBE, WBE, or EBE certification — birth certificate, naturalization documents, and other primary evidence of race/ethnicity or gender as applicable
- Current business license where applicable to your industry
- Written description of how funds will be used — specific, dollar-itemized if possible; “working capital” alone is not sufficient
OBO has moved toward requiring SAM.gov registration for businesses receiving city-administered funds, including CDBG-funded awards. SAM.gov registration is free, but activation takes time after a new registration is submitted. Do not wait until after you’ve decided to apply. Register now if you haven’t already, and verify with OBO whether SAM.gov registration is required for the specific program you’re applying to.
Harris County Programs for Businesses Outside Houston City Limits
Harris County Community Services Department spent 2021 through 2024 deploying ARPA funds through its small business assistance programs. The December 31, 2024 ARPA obligation deadline closed the book on direct ARPA-funded business grants. As of mid-2026, what Harris County CSD is offering depends on a combination of CDBG entitlement funds (which Harris County receives annually as an urban county entitlement recipient), Beryl CDBG-DR funds, and any general fund allocations the Commissioners Court has approved. That’s a more complicated funding picture than it sounds, and it means the specific programs available can look pretty different from one year to the next.
The historical eligibility structure for Harris County small business programs has looked like this: annual gross revenue under $1 million to $2 million (the specific cap has varied by program year), demonstration that conventional credit is not available on reasonable terms — the “but-for” test, meaning the business wouldn’t get this money from a bank — and location within unincorporated Harris County or one of the county’s participating jurisdictions. Verify current award amounts, employment requirements, and any additional eligibility criteria directly with Harris County CSD, as these parameters shift with each program cycle.
Business owners in Humble, Channelview, Crosby, Sheldon, Galena Park, Jacinto City, Jersey Village, and the portions of Katy that fall within Harris County fall under county jurisdiction for these programs. If you’re in Sugar Land, you’re in Fort Bend County and need to contact that county’s economic development office. If you’re in The Woodlands, note that it straddles the Harris/Montgomery county line — so verify your specific address before assuming which county’s programs apply. Spring, Cypress, and Katy’s Harris County portions fall under county jurisdiction for these programs, not OBO.
Call Harris County CSD’s economic development division before assuming any specific program is open. The Commissioners Court budget hearings that typically run July through September each year can modify program parameters, add new components, or defund existing ones before a window formally opens.
Greater Houston Community Foundation and How Its Money Reaches Businesses
GHCF does not write checks directly to individual small businesses. If you call them expecting to apply for a grant, you will be redirected. That’s how philanthropic intermediaries operate, and it’s not a flaw in the system — understanding the structure just tells you where to actually go.
GHCF channels recovery and economic development funds through CDFI partners, chambers of commerce, and business development organizations that have the underwriting capacity and community relationships to deploy capital efficiently. After Harvey, GHCF managed business relief through intermediary partners. The post-Beryl grantmaking cycle followed the same model: GHCF awarded grants to organizations that then made loans or sub-grants to individual businesses.
Call GHCF’s communications office and ask two specific questions. First, which organizations are currently receiving GHCF-sourced funds designated for small business assistance? Second, do any of those organizations serve businesses in your industry or your part of the Houston area? The answer will point you to the right intermediary rather than leaving you to guess which CDFI or chamber has active capital to deploy. This call takes ten minutes and can save weeks of misdirected applications.
Houston CDFIs and Why They Might Say Yes When Your Bank Said No
Community Development Financial Institutions are federally certified lenders whose mission is to serve borrowers conventional banks decline. If you’ve already been turned down by a bank — or you know your credit profile won’t clear a conventional underwriting threshold — this is where the conversation should go next. Understanding what CDFIs actually offer matters more than most business owners expect, and as part of our business & professional coverage we’ve tracked how these lenders operate across the Houston market.
SBA-backed bank lenders in Houston generally require a personal FICO of 680 or above for 7(a) loans, often higher for larger amounts. Houston CDFIs typically work with scores starting around 550 to 600, with flexibility when other compensating factors are strong.
On collateral: SBA lenders expect collateral to fully or substantially secure the loan. CDFIs take a more holistic view. Equipment, receivables, and sometimes demonstrated cash flow substitute for real property collateral.
Many CDFIs lend to pre-revenue or early-stage businesses where the use of proceeds is sound and repayment capacity is demonstrated. SBA-backed products typically require an established revenue track record.
CDFI loan decisions often run two to six weeks from completed application to approval. SBA 7(a) processing at a conventional bank runs 60 to 90 days.
CDFI rates are higher than conventional bank rates — typically 8% to 18% depending on term, risk, and the specific program — but they’re significantly lower than alternative lenders or merchant cash advances, which can run effective APRs well above 30%. That spread matters. A merchant cash advance that feels fast and easy can quietly cost you more than the original problem it was solving.
LiftFund (formerly Accion Texas) is the largest CDFI operating in the Houston market. Their loan range runs from $500 to $1 million. LiftFund bundles business coaching and technical assistance with most of its lending — which is either a feature or a footnote depending on where your business is. They operate the SBA Microloan Program locally, which means they can deploy SBA-sourced capital alongside their own funds. Ask specifically about hybrid SBA microloan products when you call.
PeopleFund has a strong presence in the Houston market with particular emphasis on women entrepreneurs and businesses in low- to moderate-income communities. Loan range goes up to $350,000, with technical assistance bundled as standard. If you’re a woman-owned business and you haven’t called PeopleFund yet, that’s the next tab you should open.
Houston Business Development Inc. (HBDI) is the most Houston-specific CDFI on this list, with an explicit mission focus on minority-owned businesses in Houston’s historically underserved communities. If you’re a minority-owned business in Third Ward, Fifth Ward, or the East End, HBDI is the first call after OBO. Verify current loan products and any 2026 grant programs directly with HBDI.
BCL of Texas operates statewide with a Houston presence and focuses heavily on micro-enterprise lending and entrepreneur coaching for very early-stage or startup businesses. Verify current Houston-specific loan products and minimum operating history requirements directly with BCL of Texas.
Most Houston business owners encounter CDFIs only after a bank has already said no. Be honest about why the bank declined when you talk to a CDFI. If the denial was credit score, say so. If it was revenue, say so. CDFIs see every kind of credit profile, and they can identify which product fits your situation much faster if you lead with the real obstacle rather than presenting a cleaned-up version of your financials. They’ve heard it all. Presenting the cleaned-up version just wastes everyone’s time.
Programs Targeting Minority-Owned, Women-Owned, and Neighborhood-Specific Businesses
OBO MBE/WBE/EBE certifications are the city’s formal recognition of minority, women, and emerging business enterprises. To establish minority or women ownership for MBE/WBE purposes, OBO requires primary evidence of ownership demographics — birth certificates, naturalization certificates, or other primary documents, combined with documentation that the certified owner actually controls the business. Organizational documents, management agreements, and so on all matter. The certification process is separate from any grant application but is a prerequisite for the contracting preference benefits.
HBDI has a minority-business mandate in its mission and funding sources, which means it can offer loan products that other CDFIs may not for that specific borrower category. The documentation requirements for HBDI’s minority-focused programs mirror OBO’s. Ownership demographics need primary documentation, not self-certification.
PeopleFund’s women-entrepreneur programs sometimes carry separate grant components alongside loan capital. Confirm with PeopleFund directly which gender-specific products are currently active — grant components are often funded by foundations on limited cycles rather than as permanent program features, which means they can appear and disappear without much public notice.
Geographic targeting within Houston matters more than most business owners realize. The Bissonnet/Hillcroft corridor, which anchors the Mahatma Gandhi District, has been a target area for multiple CDFI deployments. Third Ward, with its historically Black business community along Emancipation Avenue, has seen targeted capital from HBDI and GHCF intermediaries. Magnolia Park and the broader East End have been targets of East End chamber-adjacent capital programs. If your business is in one of these corridors, mention it explicitly when you contact CDFIs. Geographic targeting can affect your eligibility for specific program pools that aren’t always advertised broadly — and I mean that literally. Some of these pools never get a press release.
Some programs — particularly those using federal CDBG or CDBG-DR funds — exclude certain NAICS codes. Liquor stores, gambling establishments, and certain categories of energy-sector businesses have historically faced restrictions. Port-adjacent logistics firms and oil-field services micro-businesses should confirm NAICS eligibility before investing significant time in an application.
Application Timing and When Windows Actually Open
The seasonal pattern of these programs is one of the most important things to understand. And it’s almost never written down in one place, which is genuinely frustrating.
OBO programs funded by the City of Houston’s general fund and federal CDBG entitlement dollars typically post new Requests for Applications in September through November, following the October 1 start of the city’s fiscal year. The Commissioners Court approves the county budget each fall as well, so new Harris County program windows follow a similar calendar. This means the most competitive application season for locally administered programs runs roughly October through January, with many windows exhausting available funds before spring.
The six-to-ten-week fund exhaustion window is real. OBO’s Emergency Assistance Fund after Hurricane Harvey closed within weeks of opening. Post-Beryl windows operated similarly. If you learn about an open application window from a friend or a social media post, assume that significant time has already passed since opening and verify immediately whether funds remain. Assume less time than you think you have. You’re probably right.
For the remainder of 2026, here’s a practical action calendar:
July through September 2026: Harris County Commissioners Court budget hearings are underway. Follow Harris County CSD’s news releases and the county’s legislative calendar to track whether a new small business program component is being funded. This is also when GLO and Harris County CSD will likely be processing Beryl CDBG-DR applications or finalizing disbursements. Contact them in July to find out where the process stands — don’t wait for September.
September through November 2026: Watch OBO’s website for FY2027 program announcements. Register on OBO’s vendor/business portal now if you haven’t. Some programs require existing portal registration before applications open, and setting that up after an announcement creates unnecessary delay.
Ongoing: Sign up for email lists from LiftFund, PeopleFund, HBDI, and BCL of Texas. CDFIs sometimes receive grant funding for sub-awards that isn’t announced publicly. It goes to their existing contacts first. That’s not a conspiracy — it’s just how organizations with limited capacity manage outreach.
Watch for new postings: OBO’s programs portal at houstontx.gov/obo; Harris County CSD’s news and programs page; the GHCF website’s grants section; and the email newsletters of each CDFI named in this guide.
Verification Calls and Next Steps
Every program in this guide should be verified directly before you invest time in an application. Program parameters change. Funding runs out. New windows open. This list is a starting point, not a guarantee.
City of Houston Office of Business Opportunity Phone: 832-393-0954 Website: houstontx.gov/obo Ask: What direct assistance programs are currently accepting applications? What is the current award range? Is the Emergency Assistance Fund active? Does my business address fall within OBO jurisdiction?
Harris County Community Services Department — Economic Development Division Contact through harriscountytx.gov/csd Ask: Is the Beryl CDBG-DR small business program currently accepting applications? What is the revenue threshold for eligibility? Is there a waitlist if the window has closed?
LiftFund Houston liftfund.com | Contact through the Houston office listed on their site Ask: What loan products are currently active for Houston businesses? Do you have any SBA microloan funds currently available? What is the minimum credit score for the product that fits my situation?
PeopleFund peoplefund.org Ask: Are any grant components currently bundled with lending programs for women-owned businesses? What is the current minimum revenue requirement?
Houston Business Development Inc. (HBDI) Contact through hbdi.org Ask: What loan products are currently active? Are there any grant components available for minority-owned businesses in [your specific neighborhood]? What does the CDBG funding cycle look like for the remainder of 2026?
BCL of Texas bcltexas.org Ask: What is the minimum operating history required for a business loan? Do you have any micro-grant or sub-grant products for very early-stage businesses?
Greater Houston Community Foundation ghcf.org Ask: Which intermediary organizations are currently deploying GHCF-sourced funds to small businesses? Are any of those organizations focused on businesses in [your industry or neighborhood]?
CityDesk Houston will update this guide as new application windows open through the end of 2026. If you encounter a program that’s no longer active, a phone number that’s changed, or a new window that’s opened and isn’t reflected here, flag it to the editorial team. Local readers are the best real-time verification system for local programs — and in this funding environment, timely information is the difference between getting to an application and missing the window entirely.
