The Ledger maps where the money goes. This page shows you how to get it. Named lenders, named programs, real contact information, and what to do when you are told no even though the funding exists.
Programs and contact details change every quarter. Confirm current eligibility and contact information on each org's website before you apply.
Loans, grants, and emergency help all exist for San Francisco small businesses. The work is knowing which one fits, and who is actually holding it.
CDFI lender. Loans up to $250,000. Strong for owner-operators turned down by traditional banks. Bilingual loan officers.
Microloans from $5,000 to $100,000. Free 1:1 business advising bundled with every loan. One of the most accessible lenders for first-time borrowers.
Bilingual lending and free advising. Adelante Fund supports Latino-owned and Mission-corridor businesses. Strong wraparound services.
Small loans paired with their training programs. Great for new owners who want coaching alongside capital.
Mission-driven lender for underserved entrepreneurs. Loans plus free mentorship from working professionals.
SBA-approved lender for larger loans (SBA 7(a) and 504). Best when you're past the microloan stage and ready to grow significantly.
What to bring: two years of tax returns, three months of bank statements, a one-page business summary, and your projected use of funds. If you don't have all of these, apply to Working Solutions or MEDA first. They will help you build the package.
Grant money for small business in San Francisco is real. It is also scattered across the city, the federal government, banks, and nonprofits, and no one hands you the full list.
Currently closed for applications. A grant for facade, signage, and exterior storefront work, administered by OEWD and delivered through partner organizations in each district. OEWD has said it will reopen, so check the link for the next round.
Pairs small business owners with vacant downtown storefronts for short-term pop-ups. Free rent for the trial period, plus startup support.
Waives most city registration and permit fees for new SF businesses in their first year. Not a check, but it can save thousands.
Up to $2,500 for a food business to lease or buy an automatic dishwasher, plus minor installation and supplies. Run by the Environment Department to help cafes and restaurants move from disposable to reusable foodware. For businesses that do not already have a commercial dishwasher.
Up to $150,000 for community-led neighborhood improvements: murals, gardens, public art, sidewalk fixes, and activation events. Not a small business grant on its own, but a way to invest in the corridor your shop sits on. Open to community groups, nonprofits, and businesses.
How to find what's open right now: the city's Find a Grant page lists every active SF small business program, since they open and close on rolling cycles. To hear about new grants as they launch, sign up for the Office of Small Business email list.
The city's official front door for small business help. Will route you to current emergency programs, eviction protections, and tax deferral options. Free, fast, in-person available at City Hall Room 140.
Every SF district has a Supervisor with a small business liaison on staff. They can apply pressure to city programs, escalate stalled applications, and connect you to constituent services that bypass the usual queue.
For Mission-district businesses in active crisis. Bridge support, eviction defense, and rapid technical help.
Up to $2,000 to repair physical damage to your storefront from vandalism or a break-in: broken windows, damaged doors, and the like. You can apply up to three times a year for separate incidents. A police report is required.
Up to $10,000 for a small business damaged by a fire that was not its fault. It can cover inventory, equipment, a deposit on a new lease, payroll, and other costs to stabilize. Applications run on a rolling basis through the Office of Small Business.
Federal low-interest loans available after declared disasters (fires, floods, civil unrest, pandemic). The SBA opens these in waves. Sign up for alerts so you hear about them when they open.
The honest truth: there is no single emergency fund in San Francisco for small businesses. The Office of Small Business help desk and your Supervisor's office are the two phone calls that move fastest when you're in crisis.
You do not have to fill out any of this alone. Free advising and permit support exist precisely because the paperwork is the hard part.
You do not have to navigate any of this alone. Free, no-cost advising exists precisely because the paperwork, not the eligibility, is the hardest part.
Federally funded, free 1:1 advising. Will sit with you and build your application package line by line. The single most underused resource in the city.
Free classes, free 1:1 coaching. Particularly strong for first-time business owners, women-owned businesses, and immigrant entrepreneurs.
Bilingual coaching paired with their lending program. Strongest for Latino-owned and Mission-corridor businesses, but open to all.
Volunteer mentorship from retired executives and current business operators. Free, unlimited sessions, no eligibility requirements.
If you only do one thing: book a free SBDC session before you apply anywhere. They review your application before you submit it. That alone changes the answer from "no" to "yes" more often than any other single move.
A grant for facade and exterior storefront work, currently closed for applications. When it reopens, use it as your funding source, and the orgs below to navigate the permit process.
A real person who walks you through which permits you need, in what order, and what to expect from each. Free.
San Francisco's 2025 permit reform. It dropped the permit and fee for tables, chairs, and merchandise displays on the sidewalk outside your storefront, now a free registration, and removed permit requirements for most common business signs. A city event specialist can also walk you through closing a street or running a block party.
If your block is inside a Business Improvement District (Union Square, Castro, Lower Polk, North of Market, Tenderloin, Yerba Buena, and others), the BID often has direct lines to expediters and can move your permit faster.
A dedicated DBI staffer who helps small businesses get through inspections without surprises.
Sequence matters: when SF Shines is open, apply for the grant before you start the permit process. The grant timeline often syncs with permit approval, and starting the grant late means you'll spend out of pocket before the reimbursement arrives.
Funding decisions in San Francisco get made by humans with different criteria, different mandates, and different mood swings. Here's how to respond when the first answer is no.
Where do you need help?
Tell us what you are trying to do, and we will take you straight there.
Funding & grantsLoans, grants, emergency help, and free advising. Permits & getting registeredFacade help, permit assistance, and registration. My neighborhood's organizationsFind your merchant association and cultural district. Selling at markets & eventsVendor permits and how markets actually work. City departments & who decidesThe public offices that set the rules and write the checks. City policy & the ballotWhat is on the ballot and how rules get made.