Thank you for your interest in the Catalyst Grant. We reviewed more than 1,200 applications and as of Friday, May 22, 2026, applicants have received an email regarding their Catalyst Grant application status.
Questions? Please refer to the frequently asked questions (FAQs)
Last Updated 6/11/2026
The 2025 Catalyst Grant, part of the Cook County Small Business Source initiative, offered up to 88 businesses a $100,000 grant to accelerate their next phase of growth. Funds can be used for hiring new talent, expanding operations, purchasing equipment or upgrading facilities.
The Cook County Bureau of Economic Development has $8.8 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 88 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:
No. We anticipate that demand will exceed the available funding. In total up to 88 grants of $100,000 each will be awarded.
Applicants will be able to share feedback on their application experience by answering a few optional questions at the end of the application. These questions are entirely voluntary and will not impact eligibility or the outcome of the 2025 Catalyst Grant application.
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 88 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
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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