Elevate Vermont – Matching Grant

The NIH "$100,000 Start an SUD Startup" Challenge awards a total of $100,000 in cash prizes (up to $10,000 per winning team) plus intensive non-cash mentorship to early-stage teams developing research ideas in drug use, misuse, or substance use disorder (SUD) that could form the foundation of new biotech startups. Administered annually by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the challenge is designed to support and accelerate would-be founders before they typically become eligible for traditional research funding, and to eventually contribute new startups to the pool of small businesses competing for NIDA's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grants. The challenge is administered in two stages. In Stage 1, up to 12 winning teams are selected based on a 5-minute video introducing the team and a 4-page written proposal describing the research idea, and each Stage 1 winner receives a non-cash prize of a 6-month product development mentorship from NIDA entrepreneurship experts (including monthly 90-minute lectures, monthly office hours with an assigned mentor, and a series of homework assignments, requiring approximately 25 hours per team member per month). In Stage 2, the teams that successfully complete the mentorship (including all required lectures, exercises, and a final Peer Board Meeting presentation) are each awarded up to $10,000 in cash. Winners are encouraged to use the prize money to develop a minimum viable product, gather customer feedback, assess the feasibility of a science-based small business, and develop key concepts to support a future NIDA SBIR/STTR application. To qualify, participants must apply as a team of no less than three and no more than five individuals, each at least 18 years old at the time of submission. Each team must identify a Team Leader who is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident and who is responsible for registering, submitting materials, and receiving and distributing prize money on behalf of the team. Non-U.S. citizens and non-permanent residents may participate as team members but are not eligible to receive prize money. The research idea must directly relate to drug use, misuse, or SUD (or a platform technology broadly applicable to those areas), and the team must intend to form (or already be) a U.S.-based startup. Teams need no prior startup experience. Federal employees (of HHS or acting within their federal scope) are not eligible, and SBIR/STTR grantees with currently active grants or applications currently under review cannot participate. Teams that applied to a past challenge and did not win may reapply with the same or a new idea; past winners may reapply only with a new idea. Submissions related to alcohol use disorder or pain will not be accepted.

PWQ provides matching training grants and support services targeted to improve the competitive position of small and mid-sized manufacturing and technology companies. Grants are used to increase the skills of existing workers for new technologies and production processes, improve employee productivity and increase employment stability. Applicants should have a minimum of ten full-time employees. At least 60% of available funds must be awarded to employers with 150 or fewer employees in the State. The Program encourages the participation of small and minority-owned businesses. Priority will be given to manufacturing and technology companies. In regions of the State where regionally important industries have been identified beyond manufacturing and technology, justification should be provided to approve PWQ funding.

The Outta Excuses Small Business Empowerment Grant is designed to support small business owners by providing crucial financial assistance and strategic coaching. This initiative aims to help entrepreneurs grow and scale their businesses effectively. This is a $3,000 grant, issued once per quarter. Additionally, all entrants will automatically be considered for a $10,000 annual grant issued in September. This grant has a $15 application fee.

The Theories, Models and Methods (TMM) initiative will support the development of computational tools for understanding dynamic brain circuits that are made broadly accessible to the greater research community. This program supports applications focused on tool building and dissemination in the domain of theories about neural circuit mechanisms, models of circuit structure and function, and/or computational methods of analysis spanning across scales from neurons to behavior. The development of novel theories, computational models and methods for understanding brain function will help characterize fundamental principles of brain function and organization, characterize cellular and circuit-level neural computations over time in different regions, and understand how interactions of multiple brain circuits enable flexible behaviors and contribute to brain-wide neural dynamics. These tools will be critical for developing treatments such as closed loop systems for brain disorders including Parkinsons disease and major depressive disorder.

The Rock Solid Fund, administered by the Nantucket Island Chamber of Commerce, provides grants to Nantucket-based small businesses to ensure their contribution toward a strong island economy. Ideally, applicants will use funds to execute an innovative project to ensure the growth and economic stability of their own business while creating a positive role model for others in the entrepreneurial community.