| State economic development agency | Business Oregon (Oregon Business Development Department) |
| State SBIR/STTR match or Phase 0 grant | State program (see below) |
| State small-business or supplier-diversity certification | State program (see below) |
| Signature grant programs cataloged | 2 programs |
Business Oregon (the Oregon Business Development Department) is the state's lead economic-development agency. Major programs include the Oregon Business Expansion Program (BEP) performance-based forgivable loans, the Strategic Investment Program (SIP) property-tax exemption, the Oregon Investment Advantage, and Oregon InC (Innovation Council) programs supporting technology commercialization.
Primary site: Business Oregon (Oregon Business Development Department)
Forgivable loan structure equivalent to estimated incremental state withholding tax from new jobs created. Forgiveness conditional on meeting job-creation and retention milestones.
State income/excise tax exemption for qualifying new operations in rural Oregon counties. Tax-incentive structure rather than cash grant.
Oregon runs its own certification or preference program for state contracting. Certification can open state set-asides, participation goals or preferences; federal SBA certifications (8(a), HUBZone, WOSB, SDVOSB) cover federal contracts.
Oregon supports SBIR/STTR applicants through the Business Oregon SBIR/STTR Matching Grants and Application Support Grants. Check the program page for current rounds and eligibility; the federal award itself is still applied for through the agencies listed at SBIR.gov.
Match amount: match up to $50,000 (Phase I) or $100,000 (Phase II/Fast-Track); application support up to $5,000
Program page: Business Oregon SBIR/STTR Matching Grants and Application Support Grants
Oregon programs take applications one by one on the administering agency's site; there is no single statewide grants application system. Confirm the application link on each program page before drafting.
Portal: Program-by-program applications
Federal grants reach businesses in Oregon through several pass-through channels: HUD CDBG-State dollars administered by Business Oregon (Oregon Business Development Department) that sub-grant to localities for economic development; EDA public-works and economic-adjustment grants, awarded through regional EDA offices to local governments, economic development districts and nonprofits; USDA Rural Development Business and Industry loan guarantees for rural businesses, plus Rural Business Development Grants that go to towns, tribes and nonprofits (not to businesses directly) to support local small businesses; and SBA loan programs (7(a), 504, Microloan) accessed via local lenders, alongside Treasury-certified CDFI lenders. Business eligibility for each channel depends on entity size, location (rural vs urban), and use-of-funds.
CDBG state administrator: Business Oregon (Oregon Business Development Department) (CDBG-state administrator)
EDA regional contact: US EDA regional office
State programs cover one half of the picture. Federal grant opportunities are listed on Grants.gov; the eligibility floor often overlaps with state programs. Use the GrantProbe Grant Map to search open federal opportunities by keyword, category and agency, and read our federal grants for startups primer for the framework behind every match.
Need help beyond business grants? The Oregon section of the GrantProbe State Assistance Finder links the official rental, LIHEAP, SNAP, Medicaid and small-business programs for Oregon.
Oregon'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 Oregon's SBIR/STTR support program (see above) and CDFI lending. See the signature programs section above for the named Oregon programs and their eligibility thresholds.
Yes. Oregon supports SBIR/STTR applicants through the Business Oregon SBIR/STTR Matching Grants and Application Support Grants: match up to $50,000 (Phase I) or $100,000 (Phase II/Fast-Track); application support up to $5,000. See the program page for current rounds.
The Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program flows from HUD to Oregon's state agency (Business Oregon (Oregon Business Development Department) (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.
There is no single statewide grants application system; Oregon programs take applications on the administering agency's site. Confirm the link on each program page.