Grant Proposals Due Date: December 4, 2023 at 12:00 PM

The New Jersey Department of State (“NJDOS”) is seeking proposals to award a grant for $5,000,000 to develop and execute a business marketing initiative to highlight the benefits of doing business in the state of New Jersey and to encourage national and international business entities to relocate and expand in State. 

The NJDOS is seeking these proposals from qualified New Jersey non-profit 501c3 entities specializing in state or international based economic development marketing, with demonstrated prior experience in working with other governmental or public entities for the purposes of business marketing.

The selected entity will create, develop and implement a new business marketing initiative and messaging for the State of New Jersey. The initiative will be crafted to attract business to New Jersey by utilizing various types of media, as deemed appropriate.

The entity should have proven prior extensive experience in marketing, collateral development and media placement.

The entity should also have the ability to provide research through a comprehensive library of databases and reference material at their disposal, along with a large experienced support team of employees with the adequate work experience to handle the types of research, contacts and knowledge to create and implement the awareness marketing plan.

Download the Grant Proposal Application

Through the SBA, the New Jersey Business Action Center received funding for the NJ STEP to provide financial awards on a first come, first served competitive basis, to domestic New Jersey eligible small businesses that are new to export, as well as those businesses who currently sell their goods and services to other countries.

For NJ STEP consideration, your business must be:

• Registered in, and domestic to, New Jersey
• Small as defined by the SBA
• In business for at least one year as of the date of the application
• NJ tax compliant
• Manufacturing goods or producing services that contain at least 51% U.S. content
• Registered with NJ START and have a DUNS number

Eligible businesses for the New Jersey State Trade Expansion Program will be considered to receive financial awards to partially offset export promotion costs such as the following:

• Website and e-commerce fees to attract international buyers
• Design of international marketing media
• Participation in international trade missions
• Participation in international and U.S. trade events
• Participation in Department of Commerce organized trade missions
• Fees for services provided by the U.S. Commercial Service (USCS)

How to apply for a NJ STEP Grant