Grants & Loans
GCRA has many grant and loan opportunities for a variety of businesses, nonprofits, and community organizations looking to better Greenville County.
Local Business Grants & Loans
If you have questions about Local Business grants and loans, please contact Francisco Arnaiz (864) 242-9801, ext. 129 or by email at farnaiz@gcra-sc.org.
Economic Development (ED)
Accepting Applications: All Year
The ED is designed to encourage economic development activities and promote opportunities for employment in the communities that GCRA serves.
Who May Qualify:
Small, existing and emerging businesses located in the central business districts of:
- Fountain Inn
- Greer
- Mauldin
- Simpsonville
- Travelers Rest
Currently, the fund is not available to businesses along commercial corridors within the unincorporated areas of the County or in the City of Greenville.
Loan Details:
- Loans between $5,000 and $25,000
- Loans terms of five years
- Interest rates between 3 and 5 percent
- Two-year loan deferment option
- Loans require collateral (equaling or exceeding the value of loan)
- Personal guarantors are required
How to Apply:
- Submit application and all supporting documents with a $100 non-refundable application fee
- Complete required SCORE business/financial training for new and existing businesses
Other Resources:
Façade Improvement Grant Program
Accepting Applications: All Year
Who Qualifies
- Commercial property owners and tenants in the Poinsett Highway corridor in the unincorporated area of Greenville County may qualify for up to $10,000
- Commercial property owners and tenants Central Business Districts (CBD) in the five cooperating municipalities may qualify for up to $5,000. Cooperating municipalities include:
- Fountain Inn
- Greer
- Mauldin
- Simpsonville
- Traveler’s Rest
Funds are not available for businesses within Greenville’s city limits.
Grant Details
- The FIP program is designed to retain and attract businesses, encourage job creation and retention, restore economic vitality and enhance property values in the area
- Funds are intended to finance exterior improvements to commercial buildings complimentary to local design guidelines or acceptable to GCRA and the respective municipality
- The program is a reimbursement program and shall be administered per criteria in the guidelines, to the limit of available funding
- Funds are provided in the form of a declining balance, non-interest bearing loan
How to Apply
- FIP in the Poinsett Corridor
- Review the official FIP Program Guidelines for the Poinsett Corridor
- Complete the FIP Grant Application
- Complete the required supplemental documents, including:
W9 Form
- FIP in the Municipalities
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- Contact your respective municipality to determine if your business is located within the Central Business District (CBD) boundary
- Review the official FIP Program Guidelines for the municipalities
- Review the FIP Guidelines Appendix
- Complete the FIP Grant Application
- Complete the required supplemental documents, including:
– Employment Income Verification Form
– Economic Impact Report
– W9 Form
Community Grants
Subrecipient Funding
Application Due February 6, 2026 at 1pm
Greenville County receives annual entitlement funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for the use of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) funds for the year beginning July 1.
Who Can Apply
- Non-profits
- Homeless service providers
- Municipalities
Subrecipients must serve clients that are low- and moderate-income unless they are members of certain groups (seniors, disabled adults, battered and abused spouses and children, illiterates, people with HIV/AIDS, or migrant farm workers). People in these groups are automatically eligible for public service activities. 95 percent of Greenville County’s Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) is available to subrecipients serving the homeless population.
Grant Details
- The CDBG funds assist low- and moderate-income persons, prevent or eliminate slums and blight, or meet a particularly urgent community need where no other funding is available
- ESG funds are used to increase the supply of shelter and provide services for homeless people and to prevent homelessness
How to Apply
- If interested in or have general questions about our subrecipient funding applications, please feel free to contact Mary Rivera at mrivera@gcra-sc.org or at (864) 242-9801 ext. 128.
Workshop Registration
- CDBG Workshop Registration 10:00-11:30 AM
- ESG Workshop Registration 2:00-3:00 PM
Developers
Housing Development Partners Funding
Applications due by February 6th at 1pm
The Greenville County Redevelopment Authority (GCRA) administers the HOME Investment Partnership Program and the Greenville County Affordable Housing (GCAHF) on behalf of Greenville County, SC. The HOME Investment Partnership Program was created under Title II of the National Affordable Housing Act of 1990. The GCAHF was established in 2019 as a result of the recommendation of the 2018 Affordable Housing Study for Greenville County to support production and supply of affordable and workforce housing in the County. The general purposes of HOME and GCAHF are expanding the supply of decent and affordable housing and workforce housing, particularly rental housing, for very low income-, low-, moderate-, and middle-income residents (GCAHF only), strengthening the abilities of state and local governments to design and implement strategies for achieving adequate supplies of decent housing affordable to the residents. The Programs are meant to extend and strengthen partnerships among all levels of government and the private sector, including for profit and nonprofit organizations, in the production and operation of affordable housing.
Funding Details
- The HOME and GCAHF are used to gap finance affordable and workforce housing projects carried out by GCRA housing partners and developers for homeownership and rental units in Greenville County including projects in the city limits of Fountain Inn, Greer, Mauldin, Simpsonville, and Travelers Rest.
- These funds support affordable housing for households with incomes at or below 80% of the area median income for HOME funds, and up to 120% of AMI with GCAHF, including seniors, families with young children, the homeless, persons with disabilities and veterans.
Eligible Applicants
- Community Housing Development Organizations (CHDOs)
- Non-profit developers
- For-profit developers
Application Process
Applications are selected for funding based upon an evaluation process which includes:
- Completeness, eligibility, competitiveness, feasibility reviews, readiness to proceed and
- Recommendations as detailed in the RFP/application packet.
Selections are made in compliance with all pertinent statutory requirements and furtherance of the County’s housing goals, indicated in Greenville County Consolidated Plan, including but not limited to:
- Preservation of affordable housing
- Community revitalization
- Green building technologies and practices
- Ability to leverage GCRA funds with other funding sources.
Applicants should refer to the application form to determine eligibility and submission requirements.
GCRA reserves the right to award all, a portion of, or none of the program funds requested.
Please contact Francisco Arnaiz at the GCRA office at 864-242-9801, ext. 129 or email him at farnaiz@gcra-sc.org for additional information.
Application Workshop
January 15, 2026 @ 2:00 p.m.
In person or virtual
Please register below whether you are attending virtually (on Teams) or in person
HOME – American Rescue Plan
Funding Availability from the US. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 appropriated $5 billion to provide housing, services, and shelter to individuals experiencing homelessness and other vulnerable populations. These funds were allocated by formula to jurisdictions that qualified for funding through the HOME Investment Partnership Program (HOME Program) from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). This special round of funding is called the “HOME-ARP” program.
In April 2021, HUD allocated to Greenville County, South Carolina, a HUD Participating Jurisdiction (PJ) a total of $4,151,357 in HOME-ARP funds.
Eligible activities that may be funded with HOME-ARP include: (1) development and support of affordable housing; (2) tenant-based rental assistance; (3) provision of supportive services (such as housing counseling, homelessness prevention, childcare, job training, legal services, case management, moving costs, rental applications, and rent assistance); and (4) acquisition and development of non-congregate shelter units.
Funds must primarily benefit individuals and households in the following qualifying populations:
- Experiencing homelessness (as defined in 24 CFR 91.5 “Homeless” (1), (2), or (3))
- At risk of homelessness (as defined in 24 CFR 91.5 “At risk of homelessness”)
- Fleeing domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, or human trafficking, (as defined in 24 CFR 5.2003)
- Other populations with high risk of housing instability (highly including cost-burdened low-income households, households who have moved two or more times in the last 60 days, and households living in a hotel/motel).
The Greenville County Redevelopment Authority, as the administrator the County’s Entitlement fund from HUD, is developing an Allocation Plan to identify priority housing and service needs in the community that may be supported with HOME-ARP funds and to describe the process that will be used to distribute HOME-ARP funds.
Please contact Francisco Arnaiz at the GCRA office at (864) 242-9801, ext. 129 or by email at farnaiz@gcra-sc.org for additional information.