PA Multimodal Transportation Fund

The Rooted In Growth Grant awards four U.S.-based hair care businesses with $50,000 each in flexible grant funding, plus access to a founder-focused mentorship program, networking opportunities with industry leaders, and brand visibility across amika's and Fifteen Percent Pledge's marketing channels. Presented by amika, a professional haircare brand, in partnership with the Fifteen Percent Pledge (a racial equity and economic justice nonprofit that calls on major retailers and corporations to commit at least 15 percent of their shelf space, sales revenue, and annual spend to Black-owned businesses), the program is built to back the next generation of underrepresented professional haircare founders with capital and structured support. The program is aimed at founders from communities that have historically been overlooked by traditional funding streams. Eligible underserved founders include (but are not limited to) those from Black, African, or African American, AAPI, Hispanic, Latino, Latina, or Latinx, or LGBTQIA+ backgrounds, as well as parents with earned income below the poverty level, first-generation immigrants, and women. Founders from any background traditionally overlooked by traditional funding may apply regardless of race. Acceptance of the grant carries a commitment to fully participate in amika's Rooted In Growth mentorship and networking program, which spans several months and includes an in-person kickoff event at amika HQ in New York City, virtual mentorship sessions three times per month, and participation in a major industry trade show. Travel and accommodations for in-person events are covered by amika. To qualify, applicants must operate in the hair care space (tools, wigs, color, extensions, or products), currently sell a CPG product, be U.S.-based with annual revenue under $2.5 million, and be at least 51 percent owned by underserved founders. Applicants must currently sell to or aspire to expand into professional distribution channels such as salon distributors or direct-to-stylist. Additional requirements include a clear mission of inclusivity and community impact, products that reflect inclusive values and consumer needs, and readiness to share their story and engage in the mentorship and brand-building components of the program. Applications are reviewed by a joint committee composed of members from the Fifteen Percent Pledge and amika, and finalists are selected based on the strength of the founder's story, mission, and purpose, business viability and opportunity for growth, clear demonstration of community impact and inclusive values, and readiness for brand amplification and storytelling.

Provides funds to businesses through the four Ben Franklin Technology Partners for access to capital, business expertise, technology commercialization services to advance the development of new technologies and for the generation, conservation, and transportation of alternative and clean energy.

The Cook County Department of Environment and Sustainability’s (DES) free Businesses Reducing Impact on the Environment (BRITE) program helps businesses reduce their environmental impact while creating a healthier environment for their employees, customers and community by offering on-site assessments to reduce pollution. Once an assessment has been completed, eligible businesses will have the opportunity to apply for grant funding. This funding will go towards solutions that save money, reduce impact on the environment and modernize operations.

WBDC, in partnership with the Connecticut Office of Early Childhood (OEC), offers grants of up to $25,000 to qualified child care businesses in Connecticut through its Child Care Business Opportunity Fund. Designed to help licensed and aspiring child care businesses grow, the Opportunity Fund has grant programs targeting different stages of business, from start-ups to those ready to expand.

The Combustion and Fire Systems program is part of the Transport Phenomena cluster, which also includes 1) th eFluid Dynamics program; 2) the Particulate and Multiphase Processes program; and 3) the Thermal Transport Processes program. The goal of the Combustion and Fire Systems program is to create new knowledge to support advances in clean energy, climate change mitigation, a cleaner environment and public safety. The program endeavors to create fundamental scientific knowledge that is needed for safe, clean and useful combustion applications and for mitigating the effects of fire. The program aims to identify and understand the controlling basic principles and to use that knowledge to create predictive capabilities for designing and optimizing practical combustion devices and understanding fire. Important outcomesfor this program include: -broad-based tools — experimental, theoretical, and computational — that can be applied to a variety of problems in combustion technologies and fire; -science and technology for clean and efficient generation of power; -discoveries that enable clean environments (for example, by reduction in combustion-generated pollutants); and -enhanced public safety and climate change mitigation through research on wildland and building fire growth, inhibition, and suppression.