Fund your Vermont business

When your own money is not enough, start with a no-cost advisor, then read which program actually pays. VEDA’s small business loan can be a loan to the business. SSBCI participation sits with a lending partner. The venture funds invest in companies. Regular SBA loans come from a lender. None of these is a grant for every new business.

What’s different in Vermont

• Advising is free. The workshop price is not printed. The SBDC offers no-cost one-on-one advising. It lists a nominal fee for some seminars and workshops and does not state the amount.* The SBDC does not lend and does not write grants. It also says grants for a new for-profit business are extremely rare¹.
• VEDA can be the lender on its small business loan. The cap is $1,000,000, for growing Vermont small businesses that cannot get adequate conventional financing. A working-capital loan is generally no more than 50% of the project. A fixed-asset loan is generally no more than 40%. You put in at least 10%².
• SSBCI is two programs. The state received $57.9 million and split it in half between the loan program and the venture program. The loan program has $29 million⁵, and the venture program has $28.9 million⁶.
• The named training money pays for employees, not for opening day. The Vermont Training Program may cover 50% of the training cost. Trainees must be full-time permanent employees working in Vermont⁷. It is not cash to open the business.
• One district office covers every county. It is in Williston and covers the entire state. The office lists all 14 counties⁸.

Do this

1. Write down what you need and what it is for. Equipment, a building, working capital, employee training, and an equity investment are different asks. The programs below do not fund all of them.
2. Book no-cost advising. The Vermont SBDC offers no-cost one-on-one advising. It lists a nominal fee for some seminars and workshops and does not state the amount.* Ask before you sign up for a class. A person starting a business first attends the no-cost Starting Your Own Business workshop, then answers a few questions. The SBDC also offers help finding a lender and preparing the documents the lender asks for. The advisor does not approve the loan. The SBDC does not lend and does not write grants. It also says grants for a new for-profit business are extremely rare¹. What you get from the appointment is help preparing the paperwork, not a finished plan and not an approval.
3. Use the SBA office for the whole state. The Vermont District Office is in Williston, at 400 Cornerstone Drive, Suite 240. It says it services the entire state. The office lists all 14 counties⁸. There is not a second district for part of the state.
4. Understand who lends the regular SBA loans. On the SBA loans page, 7(a) loans are delivered by SBA 7(a) lenders and microloans are provided by intermediary lenders⁹. The SBA loans guide explains who makes each kind.
5. Read VEDA’s small business loan if a bank will not cover the project. It is a loan VEDA may make itself, up to $1,000,000, for a growing business that cannot get enough conventional financing. As a general rule, working capital stays within 50% of the project cost, and a fixed-asset loan stays within 40%. A loan of $100,000 or less may cover up to 75% of the project in some cases. Borrowers provide at least 10% as equity. The borrower is a U.S. citizen, or the business is at least 51% owned by U.S. citizens, and cannot get conventional credit. The application has to show it can create or keep jobs for Vermonters. Uses are land, buildings, machinery, equipment, or working capital. Not a refinance and not a line of credit. Terms are five to seven years for machinery and equipment, up to ten years for real estate, generally amortized over 20 years, and three years at most for working capital. On VEDA’s rates and fees page, a loan of up to $1,000,000² carries a 1% commitment fee, up to $5,000, with a $250 minimum. The interest rate is variable or fixed, and you call VEDA for the current rate³. Talk with VEDA before you apply. Some loans are approved internally. Others go to the board. The financing list also has agricultural and energy programs. This page does not restate those caps.* Open the program that matches the project.
6. Treat SSBCI as participation and venture investment, not a starter grant. VEDA works with lending partners, often in a subordinate position. These are loans, not grants. Eligibility on the loan page includes total project financing under $20 million, for a business purpose, and not passive real estate. The borrower must have fewer than 750 employees worldwide. The same purpose cannot also be financed with an SBA-guaranteed loan, a USDA-RD loan, or an SBA 504 loan⁵. In the venture program, five venture capital fund managers invest the money in new or expanding Vermont companies. As of June 30, 2026, those funds had invested $6 million in 26 companies. VEDA says a later announcement will cover the final round⁶. You do not apply to the state for the venture money. A lender or a fund is in the path.
7. Use the Vermont Training Program only if you are training employees. VTP grants may cover 50% of the training cost. Trainees must be full-time permanent employees working in Vermont. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, and the grant agreement has to be signed before training starts. Pay after training has to meet the livable wage. The page prints the 2024 figures: $19.53 an hour in Chittenden County and $17.68⁷ an hour elsewhere.* Check the current livable wage before you apply. The program also requires a set of employee benefits. Read that list on the page. This is not cash to buy equipment or to open the door.
8. Keep your paperwork ready. Lenders ask for formation documents and an EIN. Register your business and Get your tax IDs are the Vermont versions.
9. After a declared disaster, the SBA can lend directly. Disaster assistance covers several kinds of loan the SBA makes itself after a declared disaster, including physical damage, economic injury, and military reservist economic injury, and only if you qualify¹⁰. A disaster by itself does not qualify you. Check the declaration and the loan type before you apply.

What you get back

An appointment with an advisor, and help preparing what a lender, VEDA, or a training grant asks for. A loan decision comes only if you qualify, from VEDA on its small business loan, from the lending partner and VEDA on an SSBCI participation, and from a venture fund on an investment. A training grant, if awarded, pays a share of training after the agreement is signed. These pages do not promise a finished plan or an approval.