The Cook County Small Business Source is pleased to announce the 92 recipients of a Catalyst Grant. Each business receives a $100,000 grant to fuel its next phase of growth.
The Catalyst Grant accelerates proven businesses earning $500K–$10M annually in construction, finance and insurance, information technology, manufacturing, professional services, and real estate. This $9.2 million investment by Cook County will help established businesses grow even stronger.
Watch recap of Catalyst Grant celebration:
Last Updated 9/18/2026
The Catalyst Grant program, launched in September 2025 as part of the Cook County Small Business Source initiative, provided 92 businesses with $100,000 grants to accelerate their next phase of growth. Funds can be used for hiring/training talent, purchasing equipment or upgrading facilities. While Cook County originally announced that up to 88 business would be selected, the County had funds to support 92.
The Cook County Bureau of Economic Development utilized $9.2 million of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to support the grants associated with this program. Cook County has contracted with the Women’s Business Development Center (WBDC) and Allies for Community Business to serve (A4CB) as the program administrators.
The application portal opened September 25, 2025 and closed November 14, 2025 at 5:00pm CST.
No. We anticipate that demand will exceed the available funding. In total up to 92 grants of $100,000 each will be awarded.
Funds must be invested in equipment, people, and/or facilities directly related to business growth. The full list of eligible uses is provided below:
EQUIPMENT
FACILITIES
PEOPLE
No. Grant funds may only be used for expenses incurred after the grant has been disbursed.
Yes. Before receiving the grant, you will be asked to provide two documents:
A copy of your lease with an expiration date of no earlier than one year from the date of your grant application
Yes. Recipients of a grant award will receive tax information related to their grant proceeds, which will need to be reported on their tax returns. Please consult with a tax professional for additional information.
Recipients must:
The Cook County Small Business Source (The Source) only has funding to support 88
Catalyst Grant applications but received over 1,200 applications. Due to the volume of applications received, we are unable to provide feedback to individual applicants as to why their application was not selected for funding.
Grant administrators found applications ineligible for a variety of reasons; failure to meet any of the grant requirements led administrators to eliminate the application from further consideration, including:
Following the application deadline, grant administrators reviewed applications for eligibility based on program requirements and then assigned a randomized identification number to each qualifying application. Eligible applications were selected for funding by randomized identification number until award funds were fully committed. We received more eligible applications than we had funds to support.
Due to County budget constraints and the conclusion of ARPA funding that previously supported this program, we do not anticipate grant programs in 2026 or 2027. For information on capital resources, please visit our Capital Resources page.
Following the application deadline, grant administrators reviewed applications for eligibility based on program requirements and then assigned a randomized identification number to each qualifying application. Eligible applications were selected for funding by
randomized identification number until award funds were fully committed. The Cook County Small Business Source (The Source) received more eligible applications than we had funds to support.
You are now part of a select group of 92 businesses in key growth sectors receiving support through this program. The Source will use the email address catalyst.bed@cookcountyil.gov for all grant program related communications. Please add this email to your safe senders list. Below are the next steps:
The Source, via its grant administrator, the Women’s Business Development Center (WBDC), will distribute grant awards by the end of September 2026.
Once we have received the executed grant agreement and completed intake form, WBDC, the program’s grant administrator, will send an invitation to join Bill.com. Once enrolled, you can choose whether to receive your funds via direct deposit or by paper check, based on the information you provide through Bill.com.
Please consult with a tax professional. Recipients of a grant award will receive a Form 1099 related to their grant proceeds from our grant administrators, WBDC, which will need to be reported on their tax returns.
Please feel free to contact catalyst.bed@cookcountyil.gov with questions.
On May 22, all applicants were sent notification of their application status to the email address contained in their application from info@cookcountysmallbiz.org. If you have not received an email, please check your “spam,” “junk” or “other” folders. In the event you do not see a status update, please contact catalyst.bed@cookcountyil.gov
This program targeted key economic sectors that had demonstrated growth and profitability. Eligible businesses were required to fall into one of the following sectors: construction, finance and insurance, information technology/technology, manufacturing, professional services, and real estate. A list of NAICS codes associated with these sectors is included in the “Industry Definitions” section below.
Businesses were required to meet all of the following criteria:
Businesses were required to demonstrate growth in both net income and employee count from 2023 to 2024. Net income was verified using filed 2023 and 2024 federal tax returns, and employee count was verified using Form 941 for Q4 2023 and Q4 2024.
No. Business owners of all demographics were eligible to apply.
No. Businesses that opened at any time were eligible for the grant.
Nonprofits, non-employer businesses and the following restricted entities were not eligible:
Yes, if the for-profit met all other eligibility requirements.
Only businesses that fell within the specified NAICS codes were eligible. A full list is available here.
Businesses that operated in NAICS codes starting with 23.
Businesses that operated in the following NAICS codes:
Businesses that operated in NAICS codes starting with 51.
Businesses that operated in NAICS codes starting with 31, 32, and 33.
Businesses that operated in NAICS codes starting with 54.
Businesses that operated in NAICS codes starting with 53.
There was no geographic preference between the city of Chicago and suburban Cook County. All eligible businesses were encouraged to apply.
Yes. Cook County aimed to distribute approximately 75% of the grants to businesses located in what is called a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) Investment Area. A CDFI Investment Area, as defined by the U.S. Treasury, is a geographic area that meets specific criteria related to poverty, income, and unemployment.
Grant administrators determined whether a business was located in a CDFI Investment Area based on the address provided in its application.
The US Department of the Treasury provided a CDFI Fund Mapping Tool that businesses could use to determine whether they were located in such an area.
The Source continues to offer no-cost business resources designed to help small businesses grow, scale and sustain long-term success. Connect with an advisor today to identify new opportunities for your business.
Couldn’t apply this time? Watch our library of no-cost, on-demand webinars on topics such as access to capital, marketing and technology.
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