Deadline June 10, 2026; 11:59pm ET
In honor of America’s 250th Anniversary, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is having a national pitch competition to give away $1 Million Dollars in total prizes to five businesses.
The Competition will award up to $1,000,000 in total prizes, broken down as:
- 1st place: $400,000
- 2nd place: $250,000
- 3rd place: $150,000
- 4th place: $125,000
- 5th place: $75,000
Here are some basics about the competition:
Deadline: June 10, 2026, at 11:59pm ET (7:59pm AKDT).
The competition is open to:
- S. citizens who are at least 18 years of age at the time of submission (or teams of such individuals)
- Private entities or teams that meet SBA’s definition of a small business
- Individuals submitting on behalf of corporations, nonprofits, or other organizations or groups of individuals (such as an academic class or other team) must meet the eligibility requirements for individual contestants.
- An individual cannot belong to more than one team submitting an entry in this competition.
Your business must:
- Have a minimum of three years in business operation
- Have a gross revenue production of at least $100,000 annually
- Have benefited from one or more of the following SBA capital products:
- 7(a) loans (including Paycheck Protection Program loans)
- 504 loans
- Microloan Intermediary loans
- SBIR / STTR funded entities
- SBIC financed small business concerns
- Note: participants who received COVID-19 EIDL loans or SBA Disaster loans are not eligible based on those loans but may be eligible if they received the capital products listed above.
- Be current and in good standing on any federal obligations. Businesses that have, at any time, defaulted on a federal loan or federally-guaranteed financing that has resulted in the federal government or any of its agencies or departments sustaining a loss in any of its programs and businesses owned or controlled a person who previously owned, operated, or controlled a business which defaulted on a federal loan or guaranteed financing and caused the federal government or any of its agencies or departments to sustain a loss in any of its programs are ineligible to apply for the competition. For purposes of the competition, a compromise agreement as described at 31 C.F.R. 3711 shall also be considered a loss.
- Be headquartered and operated in the United States and/or its territories
- Be 100% owned by U.S. citizens
- Actively drive innovation in your sector, leveraging new technologies or strategies to modernize operations or strengthen your competitive edge
Finalists must be available to travel for the national pitch competition, which will occur on one day between September 8-18 (to be finalized at a later time), at their own expense.
See website for more information, Freedom 250 – Small Business Administration.
To upload your pitch to the Portland District Office, please click here.
Portland point of contact – email matthew.schmidt@sba.gov or call 206-799-6064.
How to Apply
Local business owners can find full eligibility requirements and submission instructions at sba.gov/freedom250. For local assistance or questions regarding SBA resources, contact the Portland District Office at 503-326-2682 or call to schedule an appointment at 419 SW 11th Avenue, Suite 310, Portland, OR 97205.
