Veteran Grant Guide

Don't chase these

Veteran 'grants' that are dead, renamed, or mislabeled

Veteran-funding listicles are full of programs that ended, changed, or never existed. Here are the ones we see most — with the facts — so you don't chase them or fall for a scam.

VET TEC (the original tech-training program)

Changed

The original VET TEC pilot is dead — funding ran out in November 2023 and its authority expired in April 2024. It's been replaced by VET TEC 2.0 (from the Dole Act), which is live: the application portal opened June 15, 2026, authorized through Sept 30, 2027, with a 4,000-participant-per-year cap.

Verified against VA News — VET TEC 2.0 on

StreetShares Foundation Veteran Small Business Award

Renamed

Now the Second Service Foundation's Military Entrepreneur Challenge. Old StreetShares URLs still resolve on a mirror — don't use them; go to secondservicefoundation.org.

Verified against Second Service Foundation on

VFW 'Unmet Needs — $1,500 grants for veterans'

Changed

VFW's program is now 'Financial Assistance for Service Members,' up to $2,500, scoped to active-duty and activated Guard/Reserve families. Countless listicles still show the old name, amount, and veteran scope.

Verified against VFW — Financial Assistance for Service Members on

'VA small business grants'

Not a grant

There is no general VA or SBA cash-grant program for veteran businesses. What exists is training, counseling, contracting set-asides, and loans. Cash grants come from nonprofits and a few states — competitive and small.

Verified against SBA — Veteran-owned businesses on

'Apply for an SSVF grant' / 'HUD-VASH grant application' services

Not a grant

Individuals cannot apply for these grants — they go to provider organizations. You get help by calling 877-424-3838 or contacting a local provider. Any site charging you to 'apply' is predatory.

Verified against VA — Supportive Services for Veteran Families on

Veteran-funding content ages badly, and some of it is outright predatory. This page corrects the programs we most often see misrepresented.

This is The Live-or-Dead Check from our framework: before you pursue anything, confirm it on the program’s own current page — and for VA figures, remember they reset at the fiscal-year rollover on October 1. If the only source is a listicle, or if someone’s charging you to “apply,” treat it as a red flag.

Next step

Get matched when we launch

Stalwell + Amivale is launching soon. Join the waitlist and we'll match your veterans to funding the day it opens — no spam, one email.