Home > Small Business > Small Business Financial Resources

Rebate$ and Incentive$

Where can you find money to pay for cost-saving upgrades? Read below to learn about stimulus funding and currently available rebates, grants, low-interest loans and other services to help finance a strategy that will reduce your costs and your greenhouse gas emissions.

If you know of resources not on this list, email Kyra Naumoff.

Table of Contents [hide]
    1. Stimulus Funding
    2. Save Energy
    3. Drive Clean and Drive Less
    4. Use Green Energy
    5. Recycle and Cut Waste
    6. Save Water
    7. Buy Green
    8. Build Green
    9. General Business Resources
      1. Tell us what you think of the Small Business Toolkit! Take our survey.

Stimulus Funding

The first thing every small business interested in state and federal stimulus projects should know is you are NOT too late. Most of the money designated for federal stimulus projects is still available and will be distributed over the next two years. Furthermore, the stimulus funding is divided into 10 general categories, across multiple agencies, all with varying timelines. This means now is the time to be learning more about projects you may want to bid on and positioning your business to compete effectively. To learn more, check out the information on Monster.com.

Save Energy

Drive Clean and Drive Less

  • US EPA SmartWay Financing
    Provides information on lenders that offer loans to owner-operators and small trucking companies to help pay for technologies that save fuel and reduce pollution. SmartWay uses Small Business Administration approved lenders that offer affordable principal and interest monthly payments with no collateral required for loans ranging from $5,000 to $25,000.

Use Green Energy

Recycle and Cut Waste

  • StopWaste.org Mini-Grants Program
    Designed to provide small amounts of money for a specific purpose. Grants ranging from $250 to $5,000 can be obtained to start your waste reduction project. The proposed project must be in the area of waste prevention, reuse, recycling or market development.
  • StopWaste.org Business Waste Prevention Fund
    Targeted for waste prevention projects – those that reduce, avoid, or eliminate waste before it is produced. Competitive financial awards are for waste prevention projects only (not recycling or composting projects). Award recipients also receive technical assistance from the StopWaste Partnership.
  • StopWaste.org Partnership Incentive Payments
    Businesses in Alameda County with the potential to divert at least 50 tons of discards per year from the landfill are eligible. Up to $10,000 of incentive payments, based on tons diverted, are available per business. Once a commitment letter has been signed to identify project staff and allocate hours, the client receives $1,000 as an upfront incentive from StopWaste to divert the first 20 tons.
  • StopWaste.org Revolving Loan Fund
    Provides financing for small and medium sized businesses engaged in source reduction and recycling activities in Alameda County.

Save Water

  • U.S. Department of Agriculture Business and Industry Guaranteed Loan Program
    The Business and Industrial Guaranteed Loan program guarantees loans by commercial local lenders to businesses in rural areas. The loan guarantee may be used for business and industrial acquisitions, construction, conversion, expansion, repair, modernization, or development costs; purchase of equipment, machinery, or supplies; startup costs and working capital; processing and marketing facilities; pollution control and abatement; and refinancing for viable projects, under certain conditions.
  • Smart Rebates Program
    List of water utilities offering rebates for water-saving fixtures and appliances.
    Offers measures for conservation products and appliance rebates in areas that have never before operated programs.
  • Your City
    Cities may have water conservation and rebates programs designed for businesses. For example:

    • Water-Wise Business Survey
      The City of Napa offers this free service to help commercial, industrial and institutional customers use their water more efficiently.
  • Your Local Water District
    Local water districts often have water conservation and rebates programs designed for businesses.Click here to locate your water district. For example:

    • Santa Clara Valley Water District offers a commercial high-efficiency toilet program, a commercial water softener rebate program, and much more.
    • Metropolitian Water District Save Water - Save a Buck Program offers cash rebates on a wide variety of water-saving technologies for Southern California businesses.
  • Your Local Water Utility
    Local water utilities often have water conservation and rebates programs designed for businesses. For example:

    • Pre-Rinse Spray Nozzle Program
      East Bay Municipal Utility District, in partnership with the Department of Water Resources, will replace free of charge high-water use spray nozzle(s) located within restaurants, institutions, and commercial facilities with water-efficient models that can save you water and money.
    • Water Survey/Audit
      East Bay Municipal Utility District offers a Commercial, Industrial, and Institutional audit consists of an interview with the facility manager, an on-site inspection of water-using processes and/or a water use analysis during which conservation opportunities are identified.
    • Water Conservation Rebates for Business & Multi-Family Customers
      Learn about available rebates for a variety of water efficient equipment.

Buy Green

  • Dry Cleaner Financial Incentive Program
    Grants up to $20,000 are available for different technologies, including professional wet cleaning systems or carbon dioxide machines, for dry cleaners operating within the four-county jurisdiction of the South Coast Air Quality Management District.

Build Green

  • The Tax Incentive Assistance Program
    Designed to provide consumers and businesses information to take advantage of the federal income tax incentives for energy efficient products and technologies passed by Congress as part of the Energy Policy Act of 2005.
  • Database of State Incentives for Renewable Energy
    Searchable database on state, local, utility and federal incentives that promote renewable energy and energy efficiency.
  • Green Communities
    Small business developers may be interested in funding opportunities available through the Enterprise Green Communities funding program.

General Business Resources

  • California Capital Access Program
    Encourages banks and other financial institutions to make loans to small businesses that fall just outside of most banks' conventional underwriting standards. With very few exclusions, virtually any business loan is eligible under this program.

Tell us what you think of the Small Business Toolkit! Take our survey.