The Orange County Business Investment Grant Program is to stimulate successful non-farm Business Investment development and expansion in Orange County.
Donor Name: Orange County
State: North Carolina
County: Orange County (NC)
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 03/20/2026
Size of the Grant: $1000 to $10,000
Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned
Details:
By making economic development grant funds available, the County will be growing its entrepreneurial ecosystem and supporting existing Business Investment and early-stage venture growth, in order to increase jobs, opportunities and grow the commercial tax base in Orange County.
Types of Grants
The program will provide two types of grants:
- Small Grants: Up to $5,000.00
- Large Grants: From $5,000.01 – $10,000.00
Eligible Uses
- For-Profit Applicants
- Marketing and advertising (Grant applicants that utilize Orange County based marketing and advertising companies may be scored higher)
- Inventory and supplies (Computer Software is an eligible use of funds)
- Purchase of equipment and/or machinery (Tangible items to be reported to the Orange County Tax Office as Business Personal Property.)
- Workforce expansion; to include employee salary. Grant applications may be scored higher for applicants that pay at or above the Orange County living wage. New job hires shall be with the intent to become permanent positions. and
- Tenant up-fit or leasehold improvements.
- Non-Profit Applicants
- Workforce expansion is the only eligible use; to include employee salary (at or above the Orange County living wage.) New job hires shall be with the intent to become permanent positions.
Eligibility Criteria
- Applicant’s business must be physically located in Orange County, North Carolina in areas zoned appropriately for their use. If a business is operating out of their Orange County residence as a home-based business, they shall seek confirmation from the entity having jurisdiction that any additional approval related to home-based businesses has been received and shall provide evidence of such approval upon request. A virtual address or P.O. Box in Orange County, NC does not meet the physical location requirements for this grant program. Applicant’s business must be in operation, generating sales/revenue, for at last 6-months prior to the application deadline to be eligible for the Small Grant, and for at least 12-months for the Large Grant Program. The Startup Grant Program is intended to serve applicants that have been in operation for less than 6-months and/or businesses that have not yet generated sales/revenue, and have a connection with business counseling services through organizations such as Launch Chapel Hill, Piedmont Food Processing Center, Midway Business Center, Small Business and Technology Development Center (SBTDC), Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE), Durham Tech Small Business Center etc. If a business has operated within a different Orange County physical location during the prior 6- or 12- month period of time, please provide all physical addresses associated in the application.
- Applicants and their businesses must not have any past due tax, fee, or fine applicable to Orange County. The Orange County Tax Office will review and follow-up with businesses that are found to have outstanding taxes and apply to the grant program.
- Applicant must be current with any existing Orange County Small Business Loan or Emergency Small Business Loan Payments.
- Applicant must wait at least 6-months from previous award before reapplying under the startup, small grant, or large grant categories.
- Duplication of benefits prohibited. No individual applicant’s business or affiliated owner(s) shall receive in excess of $10,000 from Orange County’s Small Business and Large Business Investment Grant Programs, the Agriculture Grant Program, and any other County grant awards over a three-year period. This prohibition includes a situation in which the same owner(s) owns multiple businesses. In such a situation if one or more of the multiple businesses applied for a grant(s) the maximum available to any one or more of such businesses is $10,000.
- Applicants who have taken legal action against the County in the past 12-months, or have an active legal case, and who applies for any available County grant program, are ineligible to apply for and receive grant funding through Orange County Government until the settlement or dismissal of such legal action.
- Businesses in which Orange County elected officials have any financial or ownership interest are ineligible to apply.
- Businesses in which grant program administrative staff of the Orange County Economic Development Office, the Orange County Cooperative Extension Office, and the review committee members of the Business Investment Grant and Agriculture Grant programs have any financial or ownership interest are ineligible to apply. Other Orange County employees and Advisory Board members not directly connected to the grant program are eligible to apply.
- Applicant must agree to the following terms and conditions to submit their application: “By submitting this application, you are (1) certifying that all the information provided in this application is true and accurate; (2) Granting us permission to contact your primary bank, mortgagor or landlord (as applicable), any owner of the business, or otherwise verify information included in your application if determined helpful in assessing your application; and (3) Agreeing to cooperate and assist in the verification of information provided in this application and to provide additional information if requested. Applicant further understands that should the Applicant herein be awarded assistance and there is a subsequent determination that misleading or false information was provided in this application or otherwise provided to obtain the assistance, the Applicant may be subject to civil or criminal penalties.”
For more information, visit Town of Carrboro.
