Chicago Workforce Solutions Grant

The Portland Vacant Storefront Grant Program provides Portland grocery stores, restaurants, and retailers with matching reimbursement grants of up to $100,000 (reimbursing up to 75 percent of eligible project costs) to occupy vacant street-level storefronts within the City of Portland. Administered by Prosper Portland, the city's economic development agency, the program is funded through $800,000 in one-time general fund resources and is designed to foster a vibrant central city and commercial districts by reducing the barrier to entry for eligible businesses seeking to move into vacant commercial space. Applications are accepted on a rolling, first-come, first-served basis until funds are exhausted. Maximum grant award amounts vary by business category. Grocery stores that occupy more than 5,000 rentable square feet and provide household products, packaged foods, bulk foods, produce, or meat for home consumption are eligible for up to $100,000. Restaurants are eligible for up to $50,000. Retailers, including grocery stores of 5,000 square feet or less, are eligible for up to $25,000. Awards provided under this program count toward the maximum awards available through Prosper Portland's Prosperity Investment Program (PIP) grant, so businesses that have already received the maximum PIP grant within the last five years are ineligible for this program. Grant funds may be used for both hard costs and soft costs. Eligible hard costs include signage, painting, lighting, storefront work, mechanical systems, tenant improvements, roofs, security, landscaping, and other permanent fixtures. Eligible soft costs (capped at 20 percent of the total grant) include design, architectural and engineering services, permitting fees, and third-party project management. Ineligible expenses include costs incurred before grant agreement execution, inventory purchases or replacement, non-permanent fixtures and furnishings, equipment purchases, real property purchases, and operating expenses such as owner or employee wages, marketing, and rent. To qualify, business owner applicants must own a grocery store, restaurant, or retail business located in the City of Portland, have secured a lease with at least three years remaining to occupy a vacant street-level storefront in a property zoned for commercial, mixed-use, employment, industrial, or multi-dwelling use, hold a City of Portland business license and State of Oregon registry, and be current on all financial obligations related to the property (including taxes, debt payments, and any obligations to Prosper Portland). Franchises or businesses with three or more locations regardless of location must be locally owned, with the owner residing in Portland. Property owners are also eligible if they are leasing to an eligible business owner. Nonprofits, national franchises that are not locally owned, businesses that exclude minors during all business hours, businesses that sell THC products, e-commerce businesses without a storefront, and food carts or food trucks are not eligible.

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) provides a continuing opportunity for the rapid support of early-stage applied research to explore innovative new concepts with the potential for transformational and disruptive changes in energy technology. Spurring Projects to Advance Energy Research and Knowledge Swiftly (SPARKS) awards are intended to be flexible and may take the form of analyses or exploratory research that provides the agency with useful information for the subsequent development of focused technology programs. SPARKS awards may also support proof-of-concept research to develop a unique technology concept, either in an area not currently supported by the agency or as a potential enhancement to an ongoing focused technology program. Applications must propose concepts that are not covered by open ARPA-E focused FOAs and that do not represent incremental improvements over existing technology. SPARKS awards are defined as single-phase efforts of durations of 18 months or less with a total project cost of $500,000 or less and will be issued through Grants. ARPA-E expects to make approximately $10 million per fiscal year available for new awards, subject to the availability of appropriated funds. This announcement is purposely broad in scope to encourage the submission of the most innovative ideas in energy technology to support transformative energy R&D that complements ARPA-E’s primary mechanism, which is through the solicitation of research projects in focused technology programs.ARPA-E’s focused programs target specific areas of technology that the agency has identified through extensive interaction with the appropriate external stakeholders. The focused programs have significant potential impact on one or more of the statutory goals described in Section I.A of the FOA. Awards made in response to the solicitation for focused programs support the aggressive technical targets established in that solicitation. Taken in total, ARPA-E’s focused programs cover a broad swath of energy technologies and applications.

The Agriculture Enhancement and Diversification Program Grants were created to broaden the state’s production of a wider array of farming products. To be eligible, grantees must be over the age of 21 and a legal resident of Oklahoma. The Product Development and Research Grant or Loans may be used to fund research, studies, or cover test market and product development costs associated with creating or expanding an agricultural business to bring a new product to market. Research must be new and original, meaning no prior studies can have been completed before. Funded research must result in a salable product in the end. Grants are up to $10,000, with awards over $2,500 having matching or in-kind requirements.

The BGV Pitch program flips the traditional pitch experience on its head: we coach entrepreneurs, host a live crowdfunded pitch competition, and connect you to community and professionals to support you on your journey. We democratize funding by allowing the audience to vote with their dollars using our Raisify platform for the founders whose pitch they favor. Each founder has 3 minutes to pitch, followed by a 2-minute Q&A with the audience. Winners will receive cash prizes ranging from $5,000 to $15,000, access to the BGV Connect Incubator, and a network of business owners and investors.

MEDC’s Industry 4.0 Technology Implementation Grant program will provide 50% reimbursement for qualifying I4.0 technology costs up to $25,000 for eligible Michigan manufacturers.