Chicago Small Business Improvement Fund

Since 2023, The HBCU Founders Initiative (HBCUFI) and the United Negro College Fund (UNCF), a philanthropic organization that funds scholarships for Black students and 37 HBCUs, have partnered together to host the Better Futures pitch competition. Better Futures is a national showcase of the entrepreneurial excellence booming out of the nation's 100+ HBCUs. The competition features startups led by HBCU students and alumni from the HBCUFI network who are building innovative solutions and creating better futures. The Better Futures pitch competition has traditionally been held at the National Museum of African American History & Culture in Washington, D.C. with $25,000 in prizes distributed across the top three winners annually.

The Additive Voucher Program (AVP) provides companies with a matching grant to assist with the acquisition of Additive Manufacturing technology. Eligible companies can apply for a grant up to $20,000 for Additive Manufacturing Hardware, Software, and related third-party integration services. Funding is awarded on a first-come first-served basis. The program is administered by the Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology with funding provided through the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development's Manufacturing Innovation Fund.

The Shophand $5k Small Business Boost Grant awards U.S. small business owners with a $5,000 total package (split evenly between $2,500 in no-strings-attached cash and $2,500 in Shophand technical support and services) to help them overcome their biggest tech or operational challenge. Administered by Shophand, a small business support platform that blends AI tools with human help for non-techie entrepreneurs, the grant is awarded three times per year on a rolling application schedule. Winners can direct their $2,500 in Shophand services toward AI tools and automation, creative and media support, marketing and tech support, an operations overhaul, software setup, dedicated one-on-one help from a personal Shophand, or a combination of these depending on their biggest challenge. To qualify, applicants must operate a for-profit business (nonprofits are not eligible) that is actively operating rather than idea-stage, based in the United States, has fewer than 50 employees, generates under $5 million in annual revenue, and follows Shophand on Instagram, X, LinkedIn, and Facebook. Solopreneurs are welcome, and Shophand does not weigh applications based on revenue, social following, or popularity. Applications are reviewed based on clarity, need, and impact, with reviewers looking for a clear business story, a meaningful challenge tied to Creative and Media, Development and IT, Finance, Management, Marketing and Sales, or Operations and Customer Experience, a clear sense of how the Boost could help, and demonstrated commitment to improving the business. Preference (but not a requirement) is given to applicants who have used a paid "Your Shophand" service during the current application cycle, since the program aims to support business owners actively investing in improving their systems. Most Boost support is delivered within four to eight weeks of the winner's onboarding call.

Connecticut manufacturers of all sizes and industries can leverage our internship program to strengthen their teams and build a pipeline of future talent. Companies with fewer than 300 employees can apply for a matching wage subsidy grant, covering up to $14,000 for four qualified interns during the summer of 2026.

The goal of the NHLBI Catalyze Program is to provide a comprehensive suite of support and services to facilitate the transition of basic science discoveries into viable diagnostic and therapeutic candidates that have been cleared for human testing, and to develop translational researchers fluent in product development and entrepreneurship. This specific Catalyze Enabling Technologies and Transformative Platforms initiative will support needed to rigorously validate transformative, multi-use platforms or technologies that can enable. Well-suited applications must offer the potential to significantly accelerate and/or transform the areas of early detection and screening, model development, clinical diagnosis, treatment, control, behavior, prevention or epidemiology. Proposed platforms and technologies may have widespread applicability but must be able to improve the outlook for HLBS-related diseases and disorders.