Grant Funding for Small Businesses: How to Find and Win Free Capital

Securing capital is one of the biggest hurdles for any entrepreneur, but you don’t always have to trade equity or take on debt to grow. This session breaks down the grant landscape in clear, practical terms, helping owners understand the difference between federal, state, and private funding sources, what reviewers actually look for in a winning application, and how to avoid the most common pitfalls. Attendees get a live demo of the FundingTrail Grant Database and learn how to build a repeatable search and submission system that fits into a real schedule. It is ideal for both early-stage founders and established business owners who want to move from searching to actually applying.

Featured Speaker

Sam Shanley is the founder of FundingTrail, a platform he built to help fellow entrepreneurs skip the headache of searching for business grants. Sam’s perspective on small business comes from both sides of the table; he spent six years as a VC at Adams Street Partners before moving into the trenches to build, run, and eventually sell his own hospitality business, Off Map Glamping. Having experienced the highs and lows of the “founder life” for four years, Sam is doing his best to make capital more accessible to small business owners. When he isn’t working on FundingTrail, he volunteers as a mentor with SCORE Chicago, helping entrepreneurs navigate the same hurdles he faced. He’s here to share the tools and shortcuts he wishes he’d had when he started out.

Part of The Source X WBDC Series