| State economic development agency | Kansas Department of Commerce |
| State SBIR/STTR phase-zero match | Kansas SBIR/STTR Outreach (KS-NSF EPSCoR) |
| Formal small-business set-aside program | Federal-only |
| Signature grant programs cataloged | 1 programs |
The Kansas Department of Commerce administers the state's primary economic-development programs, including the PEAK (Promoting Employment Across Kansas) payroll-tax-retention program, the Kansas Industrial Training (KIT) and Kansas Industrial Retraining (KIR) programs, the High Performance Incentive Program (HPIP), and the Angel Investor Tax Credit. Direct cash grant programs are concentrated in workforce training reimbursement and rural opportunity zone (ROZ) student-loan repayment.
Primary site: Kansas Department of Commerce
State training-cost reimbursement for net new hires (KIT) and incumbent worker retraining (KIR) at Kansas employers. Awarded as part of a broader Commerce project package.
The state primarily relies on federal small-business certifications (SBA 8(a), HUBZone, WOSB/EDWOSB, SDVOSB/VOSB) for set-aside eligibility. State agency procurement may apply these certifications where federal funds pass through, but no state-administered formal small-business set-aside program operates beyond the standard MBE/WBE/DBE registries.
Kansas SBIR/STTR support historically routed through Kansas NSF EPSCoR and the Department of Commerce innovation programs. Verify current program line with Kansas Department of Commerce before assuming a cash-match component.
Match amount: Outreach and proposal-development assistance; check current cycle
Program page: Kansas SBIR/STTR Outreach (KS-NSF EPSCoR)
Kansas state-administered grant programs typically use program-specific application portals on individual agency sites rather than a single statewide grants portal. Federal pass-through funds (HUD CDBG, EDA, USDA Rural Development) route through Grants.gov for the federal half, then through the state sub-recipient process. Always confirm the application URL on the agency page for the specific program before drafting.
Federal grants reach businesses in Kansas through several pass-through channels: HUD CDBG-State dollars administered by Kansas Department of Commerce that sub-grant to localities for economic development; EDA public-works and economic-adjustment grants flowing through regional EDA offices; USDA Rural Development Business and Industry loan guarantees and Rural Business Development Grants for rural-county operations; and SBA programs (7(a), 504, Microloan, CDFI) accessed via local lenders. Business eligibility for each channel depends on entity size, location (rural vs urban), and use-of-funds.
CDBG state administrator: Kansas Department of Commerce (CDBG-state administrator)
EDA regional contact: US EDA regional office
State programs cover one half of the picture. Federal grants flow through 26 federal agencies via Grants.gov; the eligibility floor often overlaps with state programs. Use the GrantProbe Grant Finder to filter federal grants by entity type, sector, and award size, and read our federal grants for startups primer for the framework behind every match.
Kansas's economic development agency administers several grant and incentive programs for businesses, but most flagship programs require either an existing operation, a defined hiring commitment, or capital investment milestones. Pure pre-revenue startups should usually pair federal SBIR/STTR (where R&D-eligible) with state innovation match programs (if available) and CDFI lending. See the signature programs section above for the named Kansas programs and their eligibility thresholds.
Yes. Kansas operates Kansas SBIR/STTR Outreach (KS-NSF EPSCoR), which provides Outreach and proposal-development assistance; check current cycle to small businesses receiving federal SBIR/STTR awards. See the SBIR/STTR match section above for eligibility, application timing, and program contact.
The Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program flows from HUD to Kansas's state agency (Kansas Department of Commerce (CDBG-state administrator)), which sub-grants to localities. Businesses do not apply directly to the state for CDBG dollars; they apply to participating cities or counties for economic development sub-awards (job creation, blight remediation, low-to-moderate-income workforce). Contact your local economic development office for current sub-awards.
Kansas uses Grants.gov + program-specific portals. See the application portal section above for the portal URL and pattern. Most state-administered programs require pre-registration with a state vendor identification number before an application can be submitted.