Small Business Grants for Women in Texas: Amounts and Dates

Small business grants for women in Texas look different in 2026, and many top-ranking lists still describe the old rules. Texas Woman’s University (TWU) runs the best-known grant calendar in the state through its Center for Women Entrepreneurs, which has awarded more than $2.6 million in grants since 2018. Its 2026 StartUP Grant and Texas Rural Grant guidelines contain no women-ownership requirement, and the State of Texas stopped certifying businesses as HUBs on the basis of sex in December 2025.

This guide checks every program below against its own official page as of 13 November 2026.

Which grants can women in Texas apply for right now?

Two programs on this list accept applications today: the Amber Grant and the City of Dallas Small Business Assistance Program. All 2026 TWU rounds have closed.

What happened to the StartHER Grant?

The StartHER Grant ran for seven years and funded women-owned, for-profit businesses headquartered in Texas. Its 2025 round drew 303 applications for 10 grants of $5,000, so about 1 applicant in 30 won.

In 2026 TWU filled the same slot in its calendar with the StartUP Grant: announced in August, open from 1 to 23 September, 10 grants of $5,000, winners named in October. The old StartHER guidelines address on twu.edu now opens the StartUP guidelines, and the StartUP FAQ describes the grant as open to “any legally formed business in Texas.”

Women can still apply, and the competition now includes every eligible Texas founder, so anyone searching for the StartHER grant should read the StartUP rules.

How does the TWU StartUP Grant work?

The StartUP Grant pays $5,000 in two halves of $2,500. The 2026 rules:

• Who qualifies: a legally formed, for-profit Texas entity owned and controlled by U.S. citizens or permanent residents, with 10 or fewer full-time-equivalent employees, owner excluded. For 2026 the business had to be formed between 11 August 2021 and 10 August 2026.
• Your own money: at least 10% ($500) of owner investment, free of debt.
• After you win: a small business training course, 3 hours of small business advising, a business plan with three years of financials and itemized paid receipts. The second $2,500 arrives only after all of that, and 2026 winners must spend and document the money by 23 April 2027.
• Excluded: nonprofits, TWU faculty, staff, students and trustees, and past winners of any TWU center grant.
• Taxes: TWU issues a 1099, so plan for income tax on the grant.

The money can’t cover wages, sales tax or monthly bills. Past winners bought equipment, software, marketing and fixtures.

Who qualifies for the Texas Rural Grant?

The Texas Rural Grant is the largest TWU award: 10 grants of $10,000. It began in 2023 and ran as the Texas Rural Woman Grant through 2025. The 2026 FAQ calls it open to “any rural business in the state of Texas.”

The 2026 rules:

• The business must be located and operating in one of 180 eligible counties, those with 50,000 residents or fewer. Texas has 254 counties, so about 7 in 10 qualify. Harris, Dallas, Travis and Bexar are not on the list.
• The business must be at least 3 years old (formed before 19 June 2023), and the owner must live in Texas.
• At least 51% owned and controlled by U.S. citizens, for-profit only. Sole proprietors with an assumed name filing can apply.
• Winners complete 3 training courses and 3 hours of advising, submit a 3-year cash flow and send paid receipts.
• No match is required. If one purchase costs more than $10,000, the rest goes in the budget as owner investment.

The 2026 window ran from 5 May to 5 June.

What about the TWU Veteran Grant?

The Veteran Grant paid five grants of $5,000 in 2026. TWU’s January 2026 call was for Texas women veterans who own businesses, and five women veterans won in April. The guidelines, updated 27 October 2026, ask for a business at least 51% owned by veterans, a DD214 and a 10% owner match. The 2026 round opened on 27 January, so watch the TWU grant dates page from early January.

How does the Amber Grant work for women in Texas?

For money reserved for women, the Amber Grant from WomensNet is the strongest option a Texas founder can apply for this month. There is no Texas-only award, so you compete with women across the US and Canada under the official Amber Grant rules:

• Monthly: three grants of $15,000: the Monthly Amber Grant, the Monthly Startup Grant (idea stage or under $10,000 in gross sales) and a Business Category Grant. November’s category is STEM.
• Year-end: three more grants of $75,000, one per grant type, chosen from the monthly winners.
• Who qualifies: a woman aged 18 or older with a business at least 50% women-owned and based in the US or Canada. Pre-revenue ideas and revenue-earning nonprofits can apply.
• Fee: $15, non-refundable, with a fee waiver available by email once every two years.
• Deadline: the last day of each month at 11:59 PM Eastern. Winners are announced by the 21st of the following month.

One application puts you in the running for every grant you fit, and category applications stay live for up to 11 more months. Older articles quote $10,000 per grant; the current rules say $15,000.

We cover another national program in our guide to the Venmo Small Business Grant.

What general small business grants exist in Texas?

State cash in Texas follows jobs, training or location. None of these programs gives a young company general operating money:

• Texas Enterprise Fund (Office of the Governor): “deal-closing” grants for companies choosing between a Texas site and an out-of-state site. Past recipients have typically created more than 75 jobs in urban areas or more than 25 in rural areas.
• Skills for Small Business (Texas Workforce Commission): covers training for full-time employees of businesses with fewer than 100 employees, delivered by participating public community and technical colleges.
• USDA Rural Business Development Grants: only public bodies, federally recognized tribes and rural nonprofits can apply. Small businesses with fewer than 50 employees and under $1 million in revenue benefit through them, so ask your county economic development corporation about it.
• City of Dallas Small Business Assistance Program: pays 15% of eligible real estate or capital improvement costs, up to $300,000 in target areas and $100,000 elsewhere. Living-wage jobs raise the share to 25% and the target-area cap to $400,000. The minimum project is $150,000 in target areas and $250,000 elsewhere, and work done before the agreement is signed doesn’t count toward that minimum.

What free help can Texas women owners get besides grants?

Free advising pays off twice: it sharpens the application, and TWU winners must log 3 hours of advising anyway.

• SBA Women’s Business Centers: 138 centers nationwide offering free or low-cost counseling and training. In Houston, the WBEA Women’s Business Center offers free consultations, and the Greater Houston Women’s Chamber runs a center funded in part by the SBA. Find your nearest center through the SBA Women’s Business Centers page.
• Small Business Development Centers: the University of Houston’s Texas Gulf Coast SBDC Network gives free one-on-one advising across Southeast Texas, and other Texas universities and colleges host centers for the rest of the state.
• SCORE: free volunteer mentors, with chapters in Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, San Antonio and Corpus Christi.

Certification matters for contracts. The Texas HUB program now runs as VetHUB for service-disabled veterans: emergency rules took effect on 2 December 2025, final rules on 12 May 2026, and HUB certifications based on sex were revoked. Federal contracts remain open through the SBA Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) program, a free certification for small businesses at least 51% owned and controlled by women who are U.S. citizens, with a federal goal of 5% of prime contracting dollars. For corporate supplier programs, Women’s Business Council Southwest certifies women-owned businesses for WBENC in North and Central Texas.

How do you prepare one grant application you can reuse?

Every program above asks for the same set of documents. Build the file once and adjust it per round:

1. Form the legal entity first. TWU rejects an EIN, a sales tax permit, IRS forms or an ID as proof of formation. It wants formation documents showing every owner and each owner’s percentage.
2. Check your standing with the state. A business listed as forfeited on the Texas taxable entity search is ineligible for the StartUP Grant.
3. Write a one-page company background. Cover what you sell, to whom, since when, revenue and staff. Reuse it for TWU and Amber.
4. Pick one project that equals the grant. TWU budgets must total exactly $5,000 or $10,000. Collect a quote or invoice plus a picture or ad for every item.
5. Set aside the match. StartUP needs a debt-free $500 committed when you apply.
6. Build a 3-year cash flow. Both TWU programs ask winners for three years of numbers.
7. Keep wages and sales tax out of the budget. TWU funds can’t pay them.
8. Apply yourself. The TWU FAQs warn that some applicants paid grant writers who never submitted a qualifying application.

For the narrative, use our guide to writing a grant application for funding and the Yellow Grant checklist on judging whether a grant for women founders fits your business.

FAQ

Does the State of Texas give grants to women-owned businesses?

None of the state programs checked for this guide reserves cash grants for women. Sex-based HUB certification ended in December 2025, and the TWU grants accept any eligible Texas business in 2026. Women-only money comes from national funds such as the Amber Grant.

Is the StartHER grant still open?

No. The last StartHER round closed on 26 September 2025. In 2026 the September TWU grant ran as the StartUP Grant, which closed on 23 September 2026.

Are there grants for women in Texas who are just starting a business?

Yes. The Amber Startup Grant accepts ideas and businesses with under $10,000 in sales. The TWU StartUP Grant needs a legally formed Texas business, and in 2026 the formation cut-off was 10 August, three weeks before the window opened. If you are still choosing what to build, start with our list of small business ideas for women.

Do I have to pay to apply for a small business grant in Texas?

TWU charges no application fee, and the Amber Grant charges $15 with a waiver on request. The Federal Trade Commission warns that no government agency will contact you and demand payment to get a grant, and the full list of federal grants on grants.gov is free.

When do Texas grant applications open in 2027?

TWU has not published 2027 dates. In 2026 the Veteran Grant opened on 27 January, the Texas Rural Grant on 5 May and the StartUP Grant on 1 September.

What should you do next?

My advice: apply for the November Amber Grant before 30 November 2026 at 11:59 PM Eastern, because it is the only women-only grant on this list with a deadline this month. Over the winter, form your entity, gather formation documents and quotes, and book free advising at a Women’s Business Center. Then set reminders for late January, early May and early September, when the 2026 TWU windows opened.

To test your idea and build the plan these grants ask for in the meantime, try Fe/male Switch, our startup game and platform for women founders.