A FedEx Corp. partnership is offering grants to help small businesses owned by veterans or people with disabilities. 

The FedEx Entrepreneur Fund, which will provide $10,000 grants to 30 small businesses, is a collaboration between the Memphis-based company and Hello Alice, a free, data-driven platform for small business owners. 

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For eligibility, businesses must meet one of the following requirements: 

• Majority (51%+) owned and operated by entrepreneur(s) with disabilities OR
• Majority (51%+) owned and operated by military-connected entrepreneur(s) — includes military family members, military spouses, active duty, or veterans

“As of 2020, there were more than 2.5 million veteran-owned small businesses in the United States, employing more than 5 million workers and adding roughly $1 trillion to the economy,” said Carolyn Rodz, CEO and co-founder of Hello Alice. 

A 2021 survey from the Institute for Veterans and Military Families found that while veteran entrepreneurs said they overcame some barriers in the pandemic, 49% said they were still hindered by a lack of access to capital.

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“These triumphs are in spite of the unique barriers faced by the military community, including their spouses and family members, and these grants and the education and support that comes with them are an impactful opportunity to break these barriers down,” Rodz said. 

Findings from the National Disability Institute published in April show that almost 2 million business owners with disabilities have encountered similar obstacles in their entrepreneurial endeavors, as well as a lack of support or programs tailored to their needs. 

The report found that for 62% of people with disabilities who are not working but would like to, entrepreneurship is an important employment option.

Despite this, access to affordable startup capital is limited and there are few programs tailored to their needs and challenges.

“There are many facets to these challenges, but we know that joining forces leads to greater impact. FedEx was perfectly aligned with our mission as they have a longstanding, deep commitment to new majority founders and support these communities with direct capital-access resources,” Rodz said

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All grant applicants will receive free access to Hello Alice’s platform of resources, small business owner events and workshops. 

Applications are due Friday, Oct. 7.

FedEx is also partnering with the Global Entrepreneurship Network for the Entrepreneur Fund.

More information can be found here.