CO Advanced Industries Early-Stage Capital and Retention Grant

The Athens Downtown Development Authority (ADDA) Business Marketing Grant Program is intended to incentivize economic development by encouraging investment in brand development and online marketing. This grant supports funding for branding strategies; logo design; web design and development; e-commerce; and online/social media marketing optimization. The program will offer a 50% matching grant up to $5,000 for reimbursement. Improvements must contribute to the overall value of downtown business and investments.

Citizens Financial Group Inc. has opened submissions for its ninth annual Small Business Community Champion Award, giving small businesses the opportunity to win $10,000 each. Winners also receive a year of professional development and networking through the Luminary program, which provides business owners with coaching, peer connections and access to resources designed to help grow and strengthen their companies. The contest is open exclusively to Citizens Business Banking customers and applications are due by 5 p.m. on Feb. 10.

The Harford County Workforce Technical Training Grant (WFTTG) provides Harford County, Maryland small businesses with reimbursement grants that cover up to 50 percent of eligible training costs, with awards of up to $2,000 per employee per round and $10,000 per business per fiscal year. Administered by the Harford County Department of Community and Economic Development, the program is a competitive matching investment grant designed to help local employers become more productive and competitive by accelerating the delivery of technical training to existing full-time, permanent employees. The grant supports intermediate and advanced technical training that leads to industry-recognized certifications and credentials, helping businesses invest in employee growth while building a stronger local workforce. Eligible uses of funds include approved external or internal technical training programs and qualifying apprenticeship programs. Recent recipients have used grant funds to support electrical training, HVAC training, welding qualifications, advanced computer training, and project management training. Over the past 10 years, Harford County's Department of Community and Economic Development has awarded more than $500,000 in training grants to small businesses across a range of industries. Eligible applicants must be a small business with a physical location in Harford County. Employees to be trained must work in Harford County, be full-time, and earn at least 150 percent of Maryland's minimum wage. The program offers two rounds of competitive funding each fiscal year, with applications reviewed by county staff and awards issued as reimbursements after the training is completed and paid for by the business. Training funded through each round must be completed during that same round's project period.

A central goal of the BRAIN Initiative is to understand how electrical and chemical signals code information in neural circuits and give rise to sensations, thoughts, emotions and actions. While currently available technologies can provide some understanding, they may not be sufficient to accomplish this goal. For example, non-invasive technologies are low resolution and/or provide indirect measures such as blood flow, which are imprecise; invasive technologies can provide information at the level of single neurons producing the fundamental biophysical signals, but they can only be applied to tens or hundreds of neurons, out of a total number in the human brain estimated at 85 billion.Other BRAIN FOAs seek to develop novel technology (RFA-NS-17-003) or to optimize existing technology ready for in-vivo proof-of-concept testing and collection of preliminary data (RFA-NS-17-004) for recording or manipulating neural activity on a scale that is beyond what is currently possible. This FOA seeks applications for unique and innovative technologies that are in an even earlier stage of development than that sought in other FOAs, including new and untested ideas that are in the initial stages of conceptualization.In addition to experimental approaches, the support provided under this FOA might enable calculations, simulations, computational models, or other mathematical techniques for demonstrating that the signal sources and/or measurement technologies are theoretically capable of meeting the demands of large-scale recording or manipulation of circuit activity in humans or in animal models. The support might also be used for building and testing phantoms, prototypes, in-vitro or other bench-top models in order to validate underlying theoretical assumptions in preparation for future FOAs aimed at testing in animal models.

The Long Beach Safe & Secure Program provides Long Beach, California small businesses with reimbursement grants of up to $750 or $1,500 (depending on business size) to fund security upgrades to their storefronts. Administered by the City of Long Beach, the program offers two tiers of funding: businesses with storefronts of 1,500 square feet or less may receive up to $750, while businesses with storefronts between 1,500 and 5,000 square feet, or with 25 or more linear feet of street frontage, may qualify for up to $1,500. The higher funding level is intended to support more comprehensive security installations that reduce cash exposure and deter crime. Grant funds may be used for security upgrades including cameras, floodlighting, alarm systems, and point-of-sale systems. The program operates on a reimbursement basis, and applicants must submit receipts documenting completed purchases along with photos of the storefront or area that was improved as part of the application. To qualify, businesses must operate a publicly accessible storefront physically located within Long Beach city limits (PO Boxes and shipping center addresses are not eligible), hold an active City of Long Beach business license (or be current on a payment plan for license fees), be currently open and active, and earn no more than $5 million in annual gross revenue. Eligible business types include independently-owned and operated for-profit businesses (including sole proprietorships and franchises, though publicly traded companies are not eligible) and 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations. Landlords are also eligible to apply on behalf of commercial storefronts, whether vacant or occupied. Corporations, limited liability companies, and limited partnerships must hold "active" status with the California Secretary of State. Storefront size (which determines the applicable grant tier) must be verified through a lease agreement, floor plan, or property records.