1,000+ Opportunities
Find the right grant
Search federal, foundation, and corporate grants with AI — or browse by agency, topic, and state.
State Trade Expansion Program (STEP) Grant (Illinois ISTEP Program) is sponsored by U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) / Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO). This grant program helps small businesses expand their reach to international markets by providing reimbursements for eligible export-related expenses, including website translation and international trade show participation costs.
Get a weekly digest of new grants like this
A free weekly digest of new foundation and federal funding opportunities as they're added to Granted. Unsubscribe anytime.
Or search similar grants →Extracted from the official opportunity page/RFP to help you evaluate fit faster.
SCAM ALERT: DCEO has been made aware of organizations receiving fraudulent “notice of award” letters claiming to be from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. These are not legitimate notices from DCEO. If your organization receives a notice, please report it to the Federal Trade Commission and/or the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center .
Illinois' State Trade and Export Promotion (ISTEP) program provides Illinois' small businesses with both financial and technical assistance to increase their exports. The ISTEP program includes 5 options for Illinois' companies to grow their export sales: Group Trade Missions (GTM), Individual Foreign Market Sales Missions (IFMSM), and Product Compliance (PC), Website Localization (WL), and Ex-Im Bank: Export Credit Insurance (ECI).
ISTEP assistance will be provided on a first come, first served basis for all qualifying companies. Below you will find the ISTEP application. Please contact your nearest SBDC International Trade Center (ITC) or Department of Commerce OTI Trade Specialist for more information regarding the application process.
ISTEP Application - Web Submission Form OTI Survey and Reimbursement Portal Funded in part through a grant with U.S. Small Business Administration. 5 ISTEP Options to Help Your Business Grow Group Trade Missions (GTM) Group Trade Missions are available to a limited number of companies.
Qualified businesses will receive: Financial assistance covering associated costs including: trade show booth fees, group ground transportation, matchmaking fees, interpreters, briefing materials, marketing materials, sample shipping and assistance with travel logistics Financial assistance for 25%-75% travel cost reimbursement, not to exceed $5,000 for travel for two Illinois company representatives, including roundtrip economy class airfare on a US carrier and standard hotel room Group Trade Mission Schedule Individual Foreign Market Sales Missions (IFMSM) Businesses outside of the sectors represented in the scheduled ISTEP Group Trade Missions are encouraged to undertake an Individual Foreign Market Sales Mission.
Qualified businesses will receive: Financial assistance for 25%-75% travel cost reimbursement, not to exceed $10,000 for travel for two Illinois company representatives, including roundtrip economy class airfare on a US carrier and standard hotel room Program costs can include gold key services such as matchmaking and trade show participation Product Compliance Certification (PC) Financial assistance is available to help Illinois' small and medium-sized businesses obtain compliance certification services for their products.
This assistance is available for measures taken to comply with foreign regulations including those for agricultural products, ISO registration, and packing and recycling laws. Priority will be for lab testing services to achieve product certification, such as CCC mark, CE mark, ISO 9001, ITAR, AS91 00, and ATEX. Qualified businesses will receive: Financial assistance for 50% of costs, not to exceed $10,000 per company.
The International Trade Administration's listing of certification will be used as a guide. Website Localization and eCommerce (WL) Financial assistance is available for website localization which consists of website translation services, localization for foreign markets, search engine optimization payment functions, hosting, app integration, web services, and cybersecurity; for companies to increase opportunities for export success.
Financial assistance for 50% of costs, not to exceed $10,000 per company. Ex-Im Bank: Export Credit Insurance (ECI) Financial assistance is available for EX IM Banks' Export Credit Insurance a program that protects an exporter's accounts receivable from 95% commercial and political loss 50% reimbursement rate, not to exceed $ 10,000 per company. Is Your Business Eligible?
Illinois businesses must meet the following criteria: An Illinois firm with either its headquarters and/or a substantial facility located within the State of Illinois. A small firm as defined by the SBA i.e. less than 500 employees. In operation for at least one year prior to the date of the trade mission or trade show ("Program") in which the Company seeks to attend.
Profitable with gross annual revenue of at least $250,000 (a lesser annual revenue may be acceptable if in the opinion of DCEO-OTI the company substantially contributes to Illinois job creation and/or retention efforts. Products and/or services must contain at least 51% U.S.A. and 25% Illinois content, or in the opinion of OTI, product and/or services substantially contribute to Illinois job creation/retention efforts.
The Company is not applying for or receiving any other Local, State, or Federal grant funds associated with export promotion assistance from any outside sources for the mission, compliance, or support, except for ExporTech program, for which this application requests funds from DCEO-OTI.
Contacts us to learn more Legacy paper application (for reference) Find your nearest ITC's or SBDC Funded in part through a grant with the U.S. Small Business Administration and in accordance with Section 632 of Public Law 117-328, Illinois’s total STEP program cost is $533,333 of which 75% is Federal Share of $400,000 and Non-Federal Share of $133,333.
Connect with a DCEO Representative Locate Your Business In IL Start Your Business in IL
According to the current listing, eligibility includes: Small businesses in Illinois looking to expand globally. Companies applying for or receiving any other local, state, or federal grant funds associated with export promotion generally are not eligible. Confirm the full requirements in the official notice before applying.
The current listing shows up to $10,000 in reimbursements. Verify award ceilings, matching requirements, and allowable costs in the official notice.
State Trade Expansion Program (STEP) Grant (Illinois ISTEP Program) is funded by U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) / Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO). Verify program details on the funder's official page before applying.
This opportunity targets applicants in Illinois. If your organization operates elsewhere, check the official notice for location requirements.
Applications go through the funder's official portal — the Apply Now link on this page goes there directly.
Illinois's Federal Grant Support Program (Round 2) puts $16.9 million into a single, unglamorous job: paying the non-federal match that keeps competitive applicants out of federal competitions they would otherwise win. Awards run $10,000 to $2 million across roughly 30 recipients, on a rolling basis with no fixed deadline. As federal rules tighten and match requirements harden into eligibility gates, a 'grant to get a grant' is becoming one of the highest-leverage dollars a state can spend. Here is how the program works, who should pursue it, and why match funding is the quiet chokepoint in the 2026 federal landscape.
Read articleOn July 20, 2026, the EDA announced it intends to invest $169 million across six Regional Technology and Innovation Hubs — quantum, nuclear, critical minerals, biosecure manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, and forest bioproducts — after the Trump administration rescinded the Biden-era Phase 2 awards and reran the competition. Only two of the original winners survived. Here is the full breakdown of the six hubs, why four prior awardees were dropped, and what the re-award teaches regional coalitions about competing for the next round.
Read articleOn September 2, 2026, SBA published an updated commercialization benchmark: firms with more than 25 Phase II awards in five years must derive at least 33 percent of total revenue from non-SBIR sources in FY2027, and 50 percent from FY2028 onward. It takes effect November 15, 2026. Because the measurement window looks backward three completed fiscal years, the first test is already decided — and the second is two-thirds decided. Here is the arithmetic, the history, and what firms near the line should do.
Read article