Colorado Springs Downtown Development Grants

The Copperas Cove Economic Development Corporation (CCEDC) is proud to offer the Business Improvement Grant Program to help strengthen and revitalize our local business community. This matching reimbursement grant provides up to 50% of eligible improvement costs (maximum $5,000) to support upgrades that improve the appearance, safety, and functionality of local brick-and-mortar businesses.

The Business Stabilization Fund for French Quarter Businesses provides financial assistance grants of up to $2,500 (for businesses with fewer than 8 employees) or up to $5,000 (for businesses with 8 or more employees) to small businesses in New Orleans' lower French Quarter that have experienced demonstrable revenue losses due to prolonged infrastructure construction. Administered by the Greater New Orleans Foundation through its 501(c)(3) subsidiary the New Orleans Community Support Foundation, with support and assistance from the City of New Orleans, the pilot program is designed to stabilize the French Quarter's commercial corridors during a period of major infrastructure improvement, maintain sales tax revenue from threatened businesses, protect jobs at impacted businesses, and prevent urban decay along construction-disrupted blocks. Eligibility is geographically limited to active, public-facing businesses fronting the 900, 1000, 1100, 1200, and 1300 blocks of Decatur Street or the 600 block of St. Peter Street. To qualify, applicants must have continuously owned and operated a business at a qualifying address since January 1, 2025, demonstrate a revenue decrease reasonably attributed to the construction project, be registered and in good standing with the Louisiana Secretary of State, hold an active City of New Orleans Occupational License, and have sales tax remittance equal to or exceeding the assistance amount requested. Businesses that consist entirely or primarily of property ownership, management, or rent collection within the project boundaries are not eligible, as the program is focused on supporting active, public-facing businesses rather than commercial landlords. Nonprofits without commercial activity that generates sales tax for the City of New Orleans, corporate-owned franchises, and businesses owned by employees (or immediate family of employees) of the City of New Orleans or the French Quarter Management District are also ineligible. Final award amounts may be lower than the maximums depending on funding availability and the total number of eligible applicants.

The Affordable Commercial Tenanting (ACT) Grant provides Portland property owners and small business owners with reimbursement grants of up to $300,000 to fund tenant improvements, space related soft costs, and permitting support needed to ready a commercial space for opening. Administered by Prosper Portland, the city's economic development agency, the program is designed to facilitate access to affordable commercial space and support inclusive small business growth by helping local entrepreneurs move into ground floor storefronts at a lower cost. The grant is currently available for properties located within the Interstate Corridor and Gateway Regional Center Tax Increment Finance (TIF) Districts, though the program may expand to other areas of the city in the future. To qualify, the property owner must agree to provide the small business with a minimum three year lease that includes at least one of the following: a lease rate 10 to 25 percent below market, a period of rent abatement, or capped rent escalations during the affordable rate period. The property must be ground floor and zoned for commercial or mixed use. Eligible business owners must demonstrate at least two years of business experience and meet criteria related to displacement, limited access to capital, first generation business ownership, or location within a low income census tract. Funds may be used for hard costs to ready the space (such as standard finishes, signage, landscaping, lighting, and security upgrades), up to $25,000 for soft costs like design and permitting fees, and up to $25,000 for predevelopment work. Operating expenses, inventory, and non permanent fixtures are not eligible. Property management companies, mobile businesses, e-commerce businesses, and cannabis businesses are not eligible to apply.

The Wisconsin Training for Resilient Advanced Industry Needs (WisTRAIN) Grant provides Wisconsin employers with competitive grant funding to deliver employer-driven, occupational skills training focused on advanced manufacturing and artificial intelligence (AI). Administered by the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) and funded through approximately $7 million in federal dollars secured by the Evers Administration via the U.S. Department of Labor's Industry-Driven Skills Training Fund, the program is open to employers of any size operating in Wisconsin. WisTRAIN supports a broad range of worker training programs, including apprenticeships and pre-apprenticeships, with a focus on equipping the state's workforce with skills aligned to rapidly evolving technologies such as data analytics, cybersecurity, predictive maintenance, and robotics. Eligible employers must operate in Wisconsin, propose training that supports occupations, technologies, or workforce needs related to advanced manufacturing, AI, or related emerging industries, and commit to employing trainees in Wisconsin-based positions. The program is part of Governor Evers' broader Workforce Solutions Initiative and aligns with recommendations from the Governor's Task Force on Workforce and Artificial Intelligence, which was established in 2023 to study how AI will transform business, education, and other key sectors of the state economy.

This funding opportunity aims to support the development of in vivo high-resolution structural and functional imaging technologies for the living human inner ear. Proposed projects should focus on improving the resolution of current imaging techniques or developing new imaging techniques that can visualize inner ear structures in vivo with significantly greater detail and accuracy than currently possible. Both structural and functional aspects, including visualizing dynamic elements are important to development of new and improved techniques. Projects may also focus on developing new imaging probes or contrast agents that can enhance visualization of the inner ear structures. Ultimately, research supported in response to this RFA is to encourage technologies that allow, for example, structures such as hair cells, otoliths, membranes, ions, and vasculature to be viewed in detail in awake patients in a clinical setting using non-invasive techniques. To achieve this goal, a multi-disciplinary team approach that takes advantage of the expertise of each team member is highly encouraged. Studies in humans and intermediate studies in animals, but not non-mammalian species, may be proposed to develop or advance the needed technology. Any intermediate studies must articulate a clear path of the proposed methodology to application in awake humans or define the limitations and the usefulness in anesthetized humans.