Business Attraction Prime Sites Grant

The Manufacturing Reinvented grant is a fully-funded opportunity tailored for Cook County manufacturers to enhance their production and sales, develop leadership, and train their workforce. It offers reimbursement for projects that focus on operational improvements, leadership and strategy development, sales and marketing growth, and workforce training.

The purpose of the Montana SBIR/STTR Matching Funds Program is to foster job creation and economic development in the state by providing matching grants to eligible businesses meeting the criteria set forth in these guidelines. The Montana SBIR/STTR Matching Funds Program is designed to award grant funds to Montana companies that have been awarded a Small Business Innovation Research Program or Small Business Technology Transfer Program (Federal SBIR/STTR Program) Phase I award and that, if the opportunity to do so is available, intend to apply for a Federal SBIR/STTR Program Phase II award. The State may provide up to $30,000 to businesses that have received a Phase 1 award, referred to as Stage 1 funds. Additionally, the business may be able to apply for an additional $30,000 towards the completion of Phase 2 project, referred to as Stage 2 funds. Businesses must have received a Stage 1 award in order to apply for a Stage 2 funds.

The Harvest to Market Grant provides local food and farm enterprises in eligible rural counties of Kansas and western Missouri with grants of $5,000 to $25,000 to strengthen their post-harvest and go-to-market capacity. Administered by the Heartland Regional Food Business Coalition, the program is supported by a grant from the Patterson Family Foundation and is designed to help local food businesses serve local and regional markets more effectively. Priority is given to investments in processing equipment, distribution equipment, logistics systems, and marketing, with additional consideration for projects that involve multiple farm or food businesses such as pooling products to fulfill larger orders. Eligible applicants include retail food sales outlets, producers, farmers, ranchers, food and farm cooperatives, value-added processors, aggregation and distribution businesses, food hubs, farmers markets, tribal food and farm enterprises, and food and farm business enterprises including school food service. To qualify, businesses must generally have fewer than 50 employees, less than $2 million in annual gross revenue, and a business address within the eligible Patterson Family Foundation catchment area. Nonprofits are not eligible. Grant funds may be used for website and online store development, marketing, feasibility studies, packaging, equipment, alterations of existing buildings or facilities, construction, personnel costs for staff working directly on the project, post-harvest processing (such as washing, cooling, and packing), and further meat processing after slaughter and initial processing. Funds cannot be used for agricultural production inputs like seeds or feed, animal slaughter or initial meat processing steps, building or land acquisition, ongoing operating costs such as rent and utilities, public education or training projects, or basic research and development. The grant operates on a reimbursement basis, with no matching funds required, and projects must be completed within 6 months of the contract start date.

The Biosensing program is part of the Engineering Biology and Health cluster, which also includes 1) the Biophotonics program; 2) the Cellular and Biochemical Engineering program; 3) the Disability and Rehabilitation Engineering program; and 4) the Engineering of Biomedical Systems program. The Biosensing program supports fundamental engineering research in the monitoring, identification and/or quantification of biological analytes and phenomena using innovations that exist at the intersection of engineering, life sciences, and information technology. Projects submitted to the program must advance both engineering and life sciences. The Biosensing program encourages proposals that, in addition to advancing biosensing technology, address critical sensor needs in biomedical research, public health, food safety, agriculture, forensics, environmental protection, and homeland security. Proposals are especially encouraged in areas of critical need: sensing technologies that can enable monitoring and surveillance of the environment and/or individuals for novel infectious agents; platform technologies that can readily be modified as soon as new agents are detected, sequenced, and/or otherwise characterized to enable rapid deployment of sensors in clinics and the environment; and adaptive and/or multiplex sensing technologies that can help the nation prevent the spread of the next global pandemic. Major areas of interest for the program include: -Novel signal transduction principles and mechanisms that enable sensitive and specific biosensors, suitable for measurements in multiple areas; -Design of novel biorecognition elements and appropriately designed transducing systems to enable adaptable and/or reconfigurable operating parameters in response to environmental changes or application needs at levels of device, system, or data analysis; -Development of adaptive and/or evolvable biosensing systems for detection of novel target analytes or analytes under novel conditions; -Novel synthetic biology approaches for the development of cell-free and cell-based biosensors; and -Combining biosensors with artificial intelligence (AI) methods to improve sensor specificity and response time.

The Southeastern Connecticut Enterprise Region has a $10,000 grant program for small businesses in southeastern Connecticut that need help with professional business services, equipment purchases, and inventory. Eligible businesses must have been in business for at least one year, have an annual revenue between $35,000 and $1.5 million, and be in good standing with the CT Department of Revenue Services.