Athens, AL Opportunity Council Districts Program

The Combustion and Fire Systems program is part of the Transport Phenomena cluster, which also includes 1) th eFluid Dynamics program; 2) the Particulate and Multiphase Processes program; and 3) the Thermal Transport Processes program. The goal of the Combustion and Fire Systems program is to create new knowledge to support advances in clean energy, climate change mitigation, a cleaner environment and public safety. The program endeavors to create fundamental scientific knowledge that is needed for safe, clean and useful combustion applications and for mitigating the effects of fire. The program aims to identify and understand the controlling basic principles and to use that knowledge to create predictive capabilities for designing and optimizing practical combustion devices and understanding fire. Important outcomesfor this program include: -broad-based tools — experimental, theoretical, and computational — that can be applied to a variety of problems in combustion technologies and fire; -science and technology for clean and efficient generation of power; -discoveries that enable clean environments (for example, by reduction in combustion-generated pollutants); and -enhanced public safety and climate change mitigation through research on wildland and building fire growth, inhibition, and suppression.

The Business Security Camera Program encourages businesses to purchase and install exterior cameras on commercial properties. The program seeks to increase safety for shoppers, residents, and employees. Businesses citywide can receive up to 75% of the total eligible costs, as much as $3,000 for a single commercial property.

The Accelerate Grant Program is designed to take your business to the next level! This grant program is open to women-owned businesses that received a WBDC Equity Match Grant, Ignite Grant or Municipal Grant at least 12 months ago and have demonstrated revenue growth as a direct impact of receiving WBDC grant funding. A select number of applicants will be given the opportunity to participate in a Pitch Event, where an external review committee will select the grant recipients. The grant funds cannot be used towards operating expenses (e.g. inventory, on-going marketing expenses, salaries), or for past purchases or debt repayment.

The award was created in honor of Mother’s Day and Founder’s First CEO Kim Folsom‘s mother, Catherine “Kitty” Abrams Tadlock Webster, who passed away in March of 2020. The Kitty Fund makes small micro investments in Moms who are running employer-based small businesses with two or more employees.