Kenneth B. and Stephen L. Tadlock Veteran Business Grant
Founders First CDC
Eligibility
U.S. military veteran who is CEO, president, or owner of an active U.S.-based business. Minimum 1 year in business, between 2 and 100 employees, annual revenue not exceeding $5M.
Award
$20,000 total fund awarded as twenty $1,000 micro-grants. Every finalist also gets free access to one Founders First signature program: Passport Community (valued $1,499) or Zebra Leadership (valued $1,699). You pick one, not both.
Deadlines
Annual · Pre-registration open now. Full application opens September 15, 2026 and closes October 15, 2026. Semifinalists announced October 22, finalists November 10, 2026.
Editor's take
Veteran owners with at least one year of trading and a couple of employees who want non-dilutive cash plus real training. Twenty winners means real odds, not lottery odds.
You are pre-revenue, solo, or under a year old. The 2-employee floor and 1-year minimum are hard gates.
Revenue figure, headcount, and a year of operating history. Pre-register now so you get notified the day the full application opens, because the window is only one month.
Named for U.S. Navy veteran Stephen L. Tadlock, brother of Founders First CEO Kim Folsom. Run by a community development corporation, not a private sponsor. Note that NaVOBA's page for this grant still advertises the prior cycle's single $25,000 award under a 2025 timeline. That page is stale. The 2026 structure is $20,000 across 20 winners.
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