If your business could use free money before the year ends, December still has real options — but the clock is the whole story. Four verified US small business grants are open right now with hard deadlines in November and December 2026: Verizon’s $10,000 Digital Ready grant (finish two free courses by December 7), a $20,000 microenterprise grant in Columbia County, New York (apply by December 15), Shophand’s $2,500 cash-plus-support Boost grant (closes November 30), and the $1,000 Business Freedom Grant (final deadline December 31). None of them charges an application fee, none of them takes equity, and none of them requires a loan application. What they do require is timing — and the first deadline hits in less than four weeks.
This is not a list scraped from a grant aggregator. Every program below was checked against its own official page or a government announcement on November 10, 2026, with the exact dates, eligibility rules and catches spelled out. I have also included the two things most grant roundups skip: the tax note (grant money is taxable income, and one of these programs sends you a 1099) and the scam screen (if anyone asks you to pay to apply, walk away). If you only have an hour this week, spend it on the Verizon grant — it is the only one of the four that is open to almost any US small business, and its two-course homework takes about an evening.
The December grants at a glance
| Grant | Amount | Deadline | Who qualifies |
|---|---|---|---|
| Verizon Small Business Digital Ready | $10,000 | Courses done by Dec 7, 2026; decisions by Jan 12, 2027 | Any for-profit US small business owner, 18+ |
| Columbia County NY Microenterprise | Up to $20,000 | Dec 15, 2026 | For-profit businesses in Columbia County, NY, 5 or fewer employees |
| Shophand Small Business Boost | $2,500 cash + $2,500 support | Nov 30, 2026 | US for-profit businesses, under 50 employees, under $5M revenue |
| Business Freedom Grant (Darcy’s Business) | $1,000 | Dec 31, 2026, 11:59 PM EST | Any entrepreneur, any stage, any industry |
That table is the whole article in miniature. The rest of this piece is the detail that decides whether you actually win one of these — or waste an evening on an application that was never yours to win.
1. Verizon Small Business Digital Ready — $10,000, ten winners a month
The biggest grant still open this year is also the simplest to enter. Verizon’s Small Business Digital Ready program, run with the nonprofit Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), awards $10,000 grants to ten small businesses every month from June through December 2026. That is seventy $10,000 grants across the year, and the December round is the last one.
The entry price is not money. It is homework. To unlock the application you complete any two free courses or events on the Digital Ready platform between January 1 and December 7, 2026. The courses cover digital marketing, social media strategy, intellectual property and AI-powered marketing tools, and the catalog is built for owners, not students — most sessions run about half an hour. Once the second course is done, the application unlocks and you apply once; your application stays eligible for every remaining monthly drawing through December.
A few details that matter. First, the December 7 date is the cutoff for completing the courses, not a separate application deadline — the program’s own pages say applications can be submitted during 2026 and are reviewed monthly, with every applicant receiving a final decision by January 12, 2027. Do the courses now and file the application the same week; do not leave it to December 7, when a platform hiccup or a forgotten password costs you the whole year. Second, selection starts with an anonymous drawing followed by review and verification, so a polished application matters but the process is not a pitch contest. Third, one application per owner, for one business only — owners of multiple businesses pick one. Fourth, you do not need to be a Verizon customer, and nonprofits are not eligible. Finally, the grant is taxable: LISC issues an IRS Form 1099, so budget for the tax on $10,000 as business income.
The eligibility bar is deliberately low: own a for-profit small business in the United States, Puerto Rico or the US Virgin Islands, and be 18 or older. There is no revenue threshold, no minimum time in business and no employee count stated on the program’s pages. That is what makes this the first grant to chase. If you are going to do one thing after reading this article, register at the official Digital Ready funding page — and finish your first course tonight.
2. Columbia County, New York Microenterprise Grant — up to $20,000
The largest single award on this list is also the most restricted, and that restriction is exactly why your odds are better. Columbia County and the Columbia Economic Development Corporation (CEDC) opened applications on November 2, 2026 for the 2026 Microenterprise Grant Program, offering grants of up to $20,000 to help entrepreneurs start or expand businesses in Columbia County, New York. The deadline is December 15, 2026.
Eligibility is narrow by design. Your business must be for-profit, located in Columbia County, and have five or fewer employees, including the owner. The program is funded through a New York State Community Development Block Grant, which is why the rules read the way they do: applicants must contribute at least 10% of the total project cost from their own equity — and that equity cannot be debt — and the grant is reimbursement-based, meaning you spend first and get paid back. Recipients must also complete a business training series in February 2027 before funds can be accessed.
That reimbursement structure is the catch to plan around. A $20,000 grant on a $22,000 project means you need $2,000 of your own money in the project and the cash flow to front the spending while reimbursement is processed. If your business is in Columbia County and you have a concrete project — equipment, a build-out, inventory for an expansion — this is the strongest dollar-for-dollar opportunity in this article, because the applicant pool is one county, not the whole country. If you are anywhere else in the US, skip it and spend the time on Verizon instead. The contact for questions is CEDC at microenterprise@columbiaedc.com, and the announcement is posted on the Village of Chatham’s site.
3. Shophand Small Business Boost Grant — $2,500 cash plus $2,500 in support
Shophand’s Boost Grant closes first of the four — November 30, 2026 — which is why it sits third in this list even though it is the most urgent. Each winner receives $2,500 in cash with no strings attached, plus a $2,500 credit for Shophand’s hands-on technical and operations support. The grant runs twice a year, and the winner of this round is announced December 15, 2026.
The eligibility window is wider than Columbia County’s but narrower than Verizon’s: a US-based, for-profit small business that is actively operating, with fewer than 50 employees and under $5 million in annual revenue. Businesses that are still only an idea are not eligible, and nonprofits do not qualify. The application asks you to describe your biggest tech or operational challenge and how the grant would help — this is a grant for owners who know exactly what is broken in their business and can say so in plain language.
Two things to weigh. The cash portion is small next to Verizon’s $10,000, but the $2,500 support credit is worth more than it sounds if your problem is technical — a broken checkout, a website that will not convert, a workflow held together with spreadsheets — because buying that help yourself costs real money and real time. And the November 30 deadline means you have about three weeks from today, not three months. If the Shophand description matches your business, apply this week; it is a short application and the round will not reopen until the next cycle.
4. Business Freedom Grant — $1,000, open to anyone with an idea
The smallest grant here is also the most democratic. Darcy’s Business runs the Business Freedom Grant, a $1,000 award for entrepreneurs at any stage — idea-stage founders included, no LLC required, any industry, any background. There is no application fee, and the application is four written questions plus your contact and business details.
The deadline structure is the part to understand. Applications are reviewed in phases: the early round closed September 30, the second round closes November 15, 2026, and the final deadline is December 31, 2026 at 11:59 PM EST. Entries submitted in an earlier round that are not selected stay eligible through the final judging period, so applying before November 15 gives you two chances instead of one. The single winner is announced live on Coach Darcy’s YouTube channel on January 15, 2027 at noon Eastern.
Applications are scored on four criteria: clarity of your business idea, feasibility of your plan, impact of the grant, and passion and commitment. That scoring is your writing brief. A $1,000 grant will not transform a business, so do not write about transformation — write about the specific thing the $1,000 buys (a license, a first inventory order, three months of software) and the specific outcome it unlocks. One winner is selected per cycle, so treat this as a lottery ticket with a good application, not a funding plan. File it in an evening, then move on to the grants with real odds.
The tax note nobody puts in the headline
Grant money is not a gift from the tax code’s point of view. In most cases a business grant is taxable income, and the Verizon program states plainly that LISC issues a Form 1099 to recipients. A $10,000 grant in the 22% federal bracket is roughly $2,200 of federal tax, before state tax — still a very good deal, but not $10,000 in your pocket. Keep the award letter and the 1099 with your tax records, and if you win a grant in December, talk to your accountant before you file, because the income lands in the tax year you receive it. The Columbia County grant’s reimbursement structure has a related wrinkle: you may be deducting the project costs in the same year the reimbursement arrives, so keep the receipts and the reimbursement paperwork together. This is general information, not tax advice — your accountant knows your situation and this article does not.
The scam screen: never pay to apply
Every grant on this list is free to enter. That is the rule, and it is also your best defense. The grant world has a persistent scam layer: websites and “consultants” that charge a fee to apply, guarantee approval, or ask for your bank login to “verify” you. Real funders do not work that way. Verizon, LISC, CEDC, Shophand and Darcy’s Business all publish their own pages and their own rules, and none of them asks for payment. If a listing asks for an application fee, a processing fee, or your online banking password, it is not a grant — it is a sales pitch or a theft attempt. Apply only through the funder’s own site, and be wary of any email claiming you won a grant you never applied for.
How to write an application that actually gets read
Grant reviewers read hundreds of applications. The founders who win them tend to do the same few things, and none of them require a professional writer. Kat Weaver, who won 22 grants to fund her e-commerce business Locker Lifestyle, puts it bluntly: “Don’t forget to brag about your qualifications. Prove why you’re the team to solve this problem and why you are best to serve the industry you’re serving.” Her other rule is just as practical: “Don’t use language like ‘I believe’ or ‘we think.’ Use facts and real stats to showcase the impact of what you’re building and who you’re serving.” That is the whole game in two sentences — specific numbers, specific people served, no hedging.
Gabe Murillo, who raised $250,000 in equity-free grants for his podcast production company PodcastPress, adds the part founders forget: “Grants often require ongoing administrative work to maintain, so before applying, be prepared to put in the effort to fulfill the grant’s requirements.” Read the reporting rules before you apply, not after you win — a reimbursement grant you cannot front, or a training requirement you cannot attend, is a grant you should not chase.
My own checklist, built from those two founders’ advice and the four programs above:
- Read who it is for first. A grant written for a five-person business in one New York county is not yours if you are in Texas, no matter how good the amount looks. Eligibility first, excitement second.
- Answer the exact question asked. The Business Freedom Grant’s four questions are scored on clarity, feasibility, impact and passion. Give each one a direct answer with a number in it.
- Name the specific spend. “I will buy a $1,200 commercial mixer and a $400 health-department license” beats “I will grow my business” every time.
- Reuse your answers. Most grants ask similar questions. Keep a folder with your best answers and refine them instead of starting from zero each time.
- Apply early in the window. The Verizon courses take an evening; the Columbia County application needs project numbers and a 10% equity plan. Starting the week the window opens beats starting the night it closes.
What to do this week
If you have one evening, do the Verizon courses — it is the only grant here with national eligibility and a $10,000 prize, and the December 7 cutoff is a hard stop. If you are in Columbia County, New York, start the microenterprise application now, because the 10% equity plan and the project budget take real work and the deadline is December 15. If your business has a tech problem you can name in one sentence, file the Shophand application before November 30. And if you are an idea-stage founder with no business yet, the Business Freedom Grant is built for you — apply before November 15 for two shots instead of one.
One more honest note. Our November grants roundup covered a different set of programs with November deadlines, and several of those have now closed. Grants are a calendar, not a catalog: the programs that are open today will be gone by January, and a new set will take their place. The habit that pays is checking once a month, applying to the two or three that actually fit, and ignoring the rest. Four real grants, four real deadlines, zero application fees — that is a good December.
This article is general information, not financial or tax advice. Grant terms can change; verify the deadline and eligibility rules on the funder’s own page before you apply.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to pay back a small business grant?
No. Grants are not loans — the money does not need to be repaid as long as you use it according to the program’s rules. The Verizon, Columbia County, Shophand and Business Freedom grants in this article are all non-repayable. What you do owe is tax: grant money is generally taxable business income, and Verizon’s administrator LISC issues a Form 1099 to recipients.
What is the easiest small business grant to apply for in December 2026?
The Verizon Small Business Digital Ready grant. There is no revenue threshold, no minimum time in business and no employee count — any for-profit US small business owner aged 18 or older can enter by completing two free courses on the Digital Ready platform by December 7, 2026. Ten $10,000 grants are awarded each month through December.
Can I apply for a grant before my business is officially formed?
It depends on the program. The Business Freedom Grant explicitly welcomes idea-stage founders and does not require an LLC. The Verizon grant requires you to own a for-profit small business. The Columbia County microenterprise grant is for businesses starting or expanding in that county, and Shophand requires an actively operating business.
How do I know a grant listing is real?
Apply only through the funder’s own website, check that the program names a real administrator (Verizon’s grants are run by LISC; Columbia County’s by the CEDC), and remember the hard rule: a real grant never charges an application fee. Anyone asking for a fee, a processing charge or your bank login is running a scam.
Can I apply for more than one grant at a time?
Yes — there is no rule against applying to several programs, and the founders who win grants usually apply to many. The only limit is inside a single program: Verizon allows one application per owner for one business. Check each program’s rules, and keep a folder of your best application answers so each new application takes minutes instead of hours.
What happens if I miss the December 7 Verizon deadline?
The two qualifying courses must be completed between January 1 and December 7, 2026, and the monthly grant rounds run through December 2026. Missing the cutoff means you cannot unlock the application for the 2026 cycle. New grant cycles typically open in the new year, so check the Digital Ready funding page in January for the 2027 program.