The Women's Business Development Center (WBDC) is a nonprofit that supports entrepreneurs—especially women—through training, advising, and access to capital to start, grow, and scale businesses.
Illinois
Pursuit Lending Resources offers guides, tools, and insights to help small business owners understand financing options and strengthen their capital readiness.
Illinois
A searchable directory to find your local chamber of commerce by state, city, or territory, helping businesses connect with their nearest chamber.
National
CO— by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce offers small business owners actionable advice, expert content, tools, and resources to help start, run, and grow successful companies.
National
Verizon Small Business Digital Ready helped Dallas bookkeeper Misa Bacon grow her business by 50% using free online courses, SEO improvements, email marketing, and networking, boosting leads and revenue through practical digital skills. Read More Here.
Somercor provides loans, grants, and advisory support to help small businesses and nonprofits grow, create jobs, and strengthen communities across Illinois and the Midwest.
Illinois
Jasper Photography LLC owner Sam Wilson relaunched her luxury-photography business with support from Allies for Community Business, SCORE, IL SBDC and WBDC — using funding and resources to upgrade equipment, expand services, and strengthen her impact as a Black woman entrepreneur in Chicago. Check Out the Story Here…
The MySBA Learning Center offers free online courses covering startup fundamentals, business planning, financing, and growth strategies for small business owners.
For more information, visit SBA.gov
National
Chicago’s Neighborhood Business Development Centers provide free, local support to small business owners, offering guidance, resources, and services to start and grow businesses.
Chicago
The Polsky Exchange is a UChicago startup incubator offering workspace, mentorship, workshops, and business support to community entrepreneurs and students to grow their ventures.
Chicago, Illinois
Alford Group provides nonprofits with tools, case studies, webinars, and guides to improve fundraising, leadership, and strategy for greater impact and organizational growth.
National
Provides eligible nonprofits free Google tools like Workspace and Ad Grants to boost efficiency, donor connections, and impact with apps, email, and ad credits.
National
Grow your business online with Google’s free products and AI-powered tools, helping you reach more customers, stand out, and work smarter.
National
Mona Ventures' Resource Hub offers small business owners guides on SBA loans, term loans, and lines of credit, along with monthly grant roundups to help entrepreneurs access funding opportunities.
National
The Mission Sustainability Initiative (MSI) at Forefront supports Illinois-based nonprofits in exploring strategic partnerships through confidential consultations, educational resources, and $5,000 grants for partnership readiness.
Illinois
TechRise Resources offers guides, templates, and tools to help founders build, launch, and grow tech businesses with practical advice and actionable insights.
Illinois
Venturize is a free, bilingual resource hub by Small Business Majority, offering small business owners tools and education to navigate funding, benefits, and growth strategies.
National
Fiserv’s Small Business, Big Impact initiative invests in small and diverse businesses through grants, consulting and tech solutions to boost preparedness and community resilience.
National
VBOCs assist clients in developing and maintaining a business plan. The business plan includes such elements as the legal form of the business, equipment requirements and cost, organizational structure, a strategic plan, market analysis, and a financial plan.
For more information, visit SBA.gov
National
The Women's Entrepreneurship Hub offers Illinois women, especially Black and Latina/x, resources, funding tools, and a community to start and grow their businesses.
Illinois
The WBC program was founded to foster the growth of women-owned businesses by providing access to education, training, mentoring, business development and financing opportunities to women throughout the United States and its territories.
National
SBDCs provide problem-solving assistance to help small businesses access capital, develop and exchange new technologies, and improve business planning, strategy, operations, financial management, personnel administration, marketing, export assistance and sales.
For more information, visit SBA.gov
National
Cook County Small Business Source offers free resources, advising, and funding support to help local small businesses start, manage, and grow.
Illinois
ChiBizHub provides the resources you need for starting a business, business plans, licensing, tax information, financing and more.
For more information, visit a4cb.org
Chicago, Illinois, Indiana
