Oregon small business grants, loans and SBIR support (2026)

What each Oregon program really is

Before you contact anyone, know what kind of money you are asking for:

• Loan insurance and co-lending (you repay the loan). Credit Enhancement Fund, Capital Access Program and the Relender Program ⁠²⁠³⁠⁸.
• Direct state loans (you repay Business Oregon). Entrepreneurial Development Loan Fund, Oregon Business Development Fund and the Oregon Royalty Fund ⁠⁴⁠⁶⁠⁷.
• Equity (you give up ownership). Business Oregon Venture Direct and Venture Fund programs ⁠¹⁠⁵.
• True grants, all small or narrow. SBIR/STTR Application Support and Matching Grants, Export Promotion grants, employer training grants from local workforce boards, and a few City of Portland grants ⁠⁹⁠¹⁰⁠¹³⁠¹⁴.

The Credit Enhancement Fund: Oregon’s largest SSBCI program

The Credit Enhancement Fund (CEF) is loan insurance. If your business defaults, Business Oregon covers up to 80% of the lender’s loss ⁠². That lets a bank approve a loan it would otherwise turn down for thin collateral or a short track record. The terms are:

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

You can use the loan to buy real estate or equipment, for export financing, for working capital (including receivables and inventory) or to build commercial real estate. It cannot pay for personal expenses, housing or passive investments ⁠². Treasury’s summary says eligible sectors include retail, service, agriculture, manufacturing, processing and distribution ⁠¹. You cannot apply to Business Oregon yourself. The lender submits the insurance application with its own credit analysis ⁠². Business Oregon lists more than two dozen enrolled banks and credit unions, including Columbia Bank, First Interstate Bank, Rivermark Community Credit Union, SELCO Community Credit Union and WaFd Bank ⁠².

The older Capital Access Program is not part of SSBCI. It also works through banks: for each enrolled loan, the lender sets an enrollment fee of 3% to 7%, and Business Oregon matches that fee into a loss reserve, up to $35,000 per borrower ⁠⁸. Eleven lenders were enrolled when we checked ⁠⁸.

Community lenders, royalty loans and venture money

Business Oregon Relender Program. The state buys up to 50% of a loan, or up to $1,000,000 per project. The loan itself comes from a CDFI, an Economic Development District, a Tribal lender or a nonprofit lender ⁠¹⁠³. Loans can pay for permanent working capital, tenant improvements, fixtures, equipment and commercial real estate, and the program mainly serves underserved businesses ⁠¹. Banks cannot take part, and businesses cannot apply directly. As of October 2026, Business Oregon’s page still lists funding and application details as “TBA” ⁠³. Ask an Oregon CDFI whether it is enrolled.

Oregon Royalty Fund. This fund is for growing companies that venture investors will back but banks will not. Loans run from $50,000 to $1 million, in two forms ⁠¹:

• Royalty loans last three to five years. You repay a set percentage of monthly sales until Business Oregon has received twice the loan amount, and then payments stop. You must raise at least a 1:1 private equity match ⁠¹⁠⁴.
• Angel loans have a fixed rate and a three-to-five-year term. You pay interest only each month, then a balloon payment and an exit fee at maturity. You must raise 4 to 10 times the loan in private equity ⁠¹.

You must be a traded-sector business with recurring sales, high gross margins and fast growth potential ⁠⁴. Start with Business Oregon’s intake form.

Venture programs. Venture Direct invests alongside a private lead investor on the same terms, and Business Oregon has contracted Elevate Capital to find and evaluate deals ⁠¹. The Venture Fund Program puts money into venture funds rather than companies. It accepts applications from fund managers through a request for qualifications ⁠⁵. Founders get access to this money by pitching investors, not by filing a state application.

Direct state loans for startups and traded-sector firms

The Entrepreneurial Development Loan Fund (EDLF) is the state program built for startups and microbusinesses ⁠⁶. You qualify if any one of these is true:

• Revenue was $1,500,000 or less in the past 12 months.
• You have 25 or fewer full-time-equivalent employees.
• At least 50% of the business is owned by people with severe disabilities.

Lifetime borrowing is capped at $1,000,000. The rate is fixed at Prime plus 2% or more, and the term is at most 10 years ⁠⁶. You apply through a certified entity such as your local SBDC, and you must take part in counseling. You also need adequate collateral and the ability to repay. Neither Business Oregon nor the SBDC charges a fee ⁠⁶.

The Oregon Business Development Fund (OBDF) is a different kind of loan. It provides fixed-rate gap financing of up to $2,000,000 for traded-sector manufacturing, production, processing and distribution businesses ⁠⁷. The rate is the Treasury bill rate plus 1%, with a 4% minimum, over up to 20 years. There is a $200 application fee and a 1.5% origination fee. Preference goes to rural and distressed areas and to firms with fewer than 100 employees ⁠⁷. Retail and most service businesses are not eligible.

Oregon’s only state grants: SBIR proposals and export trips

SBIR/STTR support. Business Oregon offers two grants to Oregon-based, for-profit firms with fewer than 500 employees that pursue federal Small Business Innovation Research or Small Business Technology Transfer awards ⁠⁹. Federal Phase I awards are about $150,000, and Phase II awards run $1.5 to $3 million ⁠⁹.

• Application Support Grants (open). Up to $5,000 to help prepare a federal Phase I, Phase II or Fast-Track proposal. The money can pay for grant writers, technical reviewers, consultants, legal or accounting work tied to the application, and market research or database access. For NSF, you need an invitation to submit a full proposal after your Project Pitch before you apply ⁠⁹. Applications go in by email.
• Matching Grants (closed). Up to $50,000 for Phase I recipients and $100,000 for Phase II or Fast-Track recipients. The last request for applications came out September 4, 2025 and closed October 17, 2025, and no new round had been announced as of October 2026 ⁠⁹.

The state’s separate Commercialization Gap Fund is an equity investment managed by Portland Seed Fund, not a grant.

Export Promotion Program. This program is funded partly by the SBA’s State Trade Expansion Program (STEP). It reimburses booth costs, airfare (up to $500 domestic or $1,500 international per ticket), half of lodging up to the per diem rate, freight up to $2,000 and ground transportation up to $350 ⁠¹⁰. For September 1, 2026 to September 29, 2027, federal funding is limited. Business Oregon will fund only its pre-approved list of events, at up to $7,500 per grant and up to two grants per company. It is not approving individual company trips, and other requests go on a waitlist ⁠¹⁰. To apply, you must have been in business at least one year, be headquartered in Oregon with at least half your staff in the state, and export a product or service made, processed or value-added in Oregon ⁠¹⁰.

Employer training money from local workforce boards

Business Oregon’s program list has no employer training grant. That money comes from Oregon’s local workforce development boards, and each board sets its own rules. One example is Willamette Workforce Partnership, which serves Linn, Marion, Polk and Yamhill counties. Its Train to Retain incumbent worker grant pays up to $25,000 per company per fiscal year (July 1 to June 30), up to $5,000 per employee, and covers up to three training requests per application ⁠¹³. You qualify after an assessment shows your existing staff need training to stay competitive or avoid layoffs. Only private for-profit and nonprofit employers can apply ⁠¹³. If you are outside those counties, find your board on the state Workforce and Talent Development Board’s map (linked under Verified resources) and ask what incumbent worker or on-the-job training funds it has this year.

Portland’s local grants

Prosper Portland, the City of Portland’s economic development agency, runs the largest group of local business grants in Oregon. Two are open to many businesses:

• Local Small Business Expanded Repair/Restore Grant Program. Up to $25,000 over the life of the program. It reimburses repairs and security upgrades after break-ins or vandalism for ground-floor, customer-facing businesses in Portland with 50 or fewer employees. Interior repairs are capped at $2,500, and it also covers up to $5,000 of insurance premium increases ⁠¹⁴. You are paid back only after the work is done.
• Industrial Modernization Grant. $25,000 to $300,000, with a 25% match. It is open to manufacturers and industrial businesses in Portland and paid for by the Portland Clean Energy Community Benefits Fund. Applications open November 1, 2026 and close December 31, 2026, and you must complete a technical analysis with Energy Trust of Oregon first ⁠¹⁵.

Getting Oregon financing step by step

1. Book a free SBDC appointment

   Oregon’s 17 regional SBDCs give confidential, no-cost advising, and the network has a Capital Access Team, a Global Trade Center and innovation advisers ⁠¹². Bring your business plan, recent financial statements or projections, and the amount and purpose of the loan.

2. Pick the right loan

   For a startup or a firm with $1.5 million or less in revenue, ask the SBDC to submit an EDLF application ⁠⁶. For a bank loan that falls short on collateral, ask a CEF-enrolled bank or credit union to request CEF insurance ⁠². For a community lender loan, ask a CDFI whether it takes part in the Relender Program ⁠³.

3. Raise equity before applying to the Royalty Fund

   Send the intake form only after you have a private investor committed for at least the 1:1 match ⁠⁴.

4. Use the $5,000 SBIR grant before your federal deadline

   Choose the federal solicitation, read the Application Support Guidelines, then email the application form with your budget ⁠⁹.

5. Apply for export help early

   Sign the SBA self-certification and debarment forms and complete the Oregon Small Business Survey. Then apply in the Export Application Portal at least 60 days before the event (30 days for pre-approved events). Review takes two to three weeks ⁠¹⁰. Within 30 days after the event, file the performance report and expense report with receipts to get reimbursed ⁠¹⁰.

6. Ask your workforce board about training grants before you train

   Grants like Train to Retain begin with an assessment and an application, so set this up before the training starts ⁠¹³.

7. If you are turned down, try another route

   A lender’s CEF decision is a credit decision, and another enrolled lender may decide differently ⁠². Join Business Oregon’s “Innovation & Entrepreneurship” mailing list to hear when the SBIR Matching Grant reopens ⁠⁹.

For other Oregon help, see the Oregon overview, or compare states on the small business grants hub.