2025 USA Innovation Fund

Whether you're a nonprofit building financial management solutions, a mission-driven private company that works closely with small businesses, a fintech creating cash flow tools, or a university piloting new approaches, we want to support your work.

We're particularly excited about the potential for partnerships between fintechs and mission-driven organizations that combine technical innovation with deep community connections. If your innovation strengthens small business financial health and you're committed to creating broader public benefit beyond your own organization, we encourage you to apply.

Proposed projects must:

• Target U.S. small businesses as customers or end users
• Be implemented in the U.S.
• Solve critical and systemic challenges to small business financial health
• Must be in the prototyping or early testing phase; solutions may be piloted with users but should not yet be deployed at scale.
• Includes a digital tool or platform (not solely training or mentorship)

Organizational eligibility

The Mastercard Strive USA 2025 Innovation Fund is open to any organization developing innovations for small business financial health including nonprofits, CDFIs, credit unions, universities, and for-profit companies that is registered in the U.S. We will also encourage applications from coalitions of partners working on a specific financial health innovation (e.g., a fintech-CDFI partnership).

We recognize the scope of this innovation fund will naturally attract fintechs and other private sector companies developing distinct products for commercial markets. However, grant funds cannot support the development of products intended solely for commercial use.

All applicants must demonstrate a clear commitment to public benefit by selecting one or more of the following pathways:

Pathway 1: Mission-Driven Implementation. The applicant either operates as a mission-driven organization (nonprofit, CDFI, credit union, university) OR partners with such an organization to co-develop, implement, or distribute the innovation to serve their constituencies.

Pathway 2: Open Source Development. The applicant will release all or core components of the technology, algorithms, and methodologies under open source licenses (such as Apache 2.0, MIT, or GPL) that allow free use, modification, and distribution by others in the ecosystem.

Pathway 3: Public Benefit Licensing. The applicant commits to licensing the innovation at cost or for free to nonprofits, CDFIs, and organizations focused specifically on serving low-to-moderate income small businesses.

Pathway 4: Alternative Public Benefit Approach. The applicant proposes an alternative pathway that ensures meaningful public benefit and broad ecosystem access. Proposals must be specific and measurable as well as demonstrate comparable public benefit to the above pathways. Generic commitments to "help small businesses" will not be considered sufficient.

Applicants must:

• Comply with US sanctions, laws, and regulations, including data and privacy regulations.
• Be registered and operational, demonstrating at least 1 year of legal and ethical operations and commendable performance.
• Be compliant with all applicable laws, including adhering to fundamental human rights and all international and US labor standards.
• Be fully compliant with business licensing, taxation, employee, and other regulations in all countries of operation.
• Be financially healthy with adequate reporting systems.
• Have no involvement in unethical activities such as arms production or tobacco.
• Comply with the terms and conditions of funding.