Up to $400K to quit your job and build in New Jersey, plus a $50K top prize due Oct 26
New Jersey will cover up to $400,000 of a three-founder team's pay for two years. The catch: you have to quit your job first.
That is the Innovation Fellows grant, and recent grads are written into the rules. It closes Friday, December 4, and the $250 fee to apply is not refunded.
Here's a hypothetical. Lumenbrook Labs (a made-up startup) is three friends in Newark. Each left a paid job last month, and one has a New Jersey college degree. They have an idea, not a company. That degree can add a $50,000 bonus to the $200,000 base.
Closing sooner: a Tennessee and Georgia pitch contest with a $50,000 top prize per region, due Monday, October 26. High schoolers can pitch for $1,500 by Friday, November 13.
Grants are competitive. We opened every official page today. If a detail differs, trust the page.
1. TVFCU Idea Leap Grant (Chattanooga, Ocoee and Northwest Georgia)
- Amount: $300,000 across three regions. In each, one winner gets $50,000, one gets $20,000 and three get $10,000.
- Who qualifies: for-profit businesses in the credit union's 17-county area, earning revenue for 12 months or more, with 2 to 25 employees and under $2.5 million in revenue. Owners 18 or older; membership not needed.
- The catch: quarterfinalists send a video in December, and live pitches are not until May. Finalists must open a TVFCU account to get paid.
- Deadline: October 26, 2026 at 5 p.m. Eastern.
- Official link: https://www.tvfcu.com/business/idea-leap/grant/
2. Jacobson Institute Innovator Competition (high school students, nationwide)
- Amount: $1,500 for first, $1,000 for second and $500 for third.
- Who qualifies: U.S. citizens in grades 9 to 12 living in the U.S. or its territories.
- The catch: you need a teacher or other adult to help. Send a one-page executive summary and photos. Finalists pitch on Zoom from school.
- Deadline: November 13, 2026.
- Official link: https://jacobsoninstitute.org/bizinnovator/innovatorcompetition
3. BEAP Equipment Grant (Roanoke County, Virginia)
- Amount: up to 50% of equipment costs, paid back: up to $15,000 with 2 to 49 full-time-equivalent employees, or $20,000 with 50 or more. You match at least 1:1.
- Who qualifies: for-profit businesses at a permanent commercial or industrial site in Roanoke County or Vinton, open locally a year or more, with at least two full-time-equivalent employees and current on local taxes.
- The catch: you buy first. Sales tax and shipping are not covered.
- Deadline: November 15, 2026.
- Official link: https://yesroanoke.com/BEAP
4. New Jersey Innovation Fellows (Cohort III)
- Amount: $200,000 per team, plus up to $200,000 in bonuses: $50,000 if a founder lives in an Opportunity Zone, and $50,000 per founder, up to three, who self-certifies as a woman or minority or is a New Jersey college graduate.
- Who qualifies: teams of three or more full-time founders with an idea, not a registered business. At least half must be first-timers. Each must have held a paid job and paid New Jersey income tax within 60 days before applying. The venture must fit a targeted industry and an eligible town, such as Newark.
- The catch: money covers founder payroll only, and you commit 35 hours a week for two years. Fee to apply: $250, non-refundable.
- Deadline: December 4, 2026 at 5 p.m. Eastern.
- Official link: https://www.njeda.gov/new-jersey-innovation-fellows-program/
5. Verizon Small Business Digital Ready Grant (nationwide)
- Amount: $10,000 grants, with ten businesses picked each month through December 2026.
- Who qualifies: owners 18 or older of a for-profit business in the U.S., Puerto Rico or the U.S. Virgin Islands. Nonprofits are out.
- The catch: finish two free courses or events on Digital Ready to unlock the form. An anonymous drawing makes the first cut. One application rides every monthly pick left, so apply early.
- Deadline: finish your two courses or events by December 7, 2026. Verizon says you can apply anytime in 2026.
- Official link: https://digitalready.verizonwireless.com/funding/details
Before you apply
A real grant never asks for a gift card or your bank login to release money. New Jersey lists its $250 fee on its own page; no other grant here lists one. If a caller asks for cash to unlock a grant, hang up.
If #1 fits, start tonight. It closes in eight days.
We can help you find grants and apply: https://mcafax.com/notebook/where-to-get-business-funding
Verified on each official page: October 18, 2026 (2026-10-18).