Raleigh Building Up-fit Grant

The FoundHer accelerator program focuses on Hawaii-based women entrepreneurs. Accepted participants to the six-month program will receive $20,000 grants, a $4,000 care stipend, weekly educational workshops, and monthly learning and networking retreats. Businesses must be early-stage, for-profit and at least 51% Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander-owned to qualify.

The goal of the NHLBI Catalyze Program is to provide a comprehensive suite of support and services to facilitate the transition of basic science discoveries into viable diagnostic and therapeutic candidates that have been cleared for human testing, and to develop translational researchers fluent in product development and entrepreneurship. This specific Catalyze Enabling Technologies and Transformative Platforms initiative will support needed to rigorously validate transformative, multi-use platforms or technologies that can enable. Well-suited applications must offer the potential to significantly accelerate and/or transform the areas of early detection and screening, model development, clinical diagnosis, treatment, control, behavior, prevention or epidemiology. Proposed platforms and technologies may have widespread applicability but must be able to improve the outlook for HLBS-related diseases and disorders.

The Brooklyn Pitch Competition awards a total of $450,000 in unrestricted grant funding to selected Brooklyn-based businesses, including a $150,000 grand prize and additional finalist awards ranging from $25,000 to $75,000. Administered by the Social Justice Fund (a Joe and Clara Tsai Foundation initiative), the competition is designed for established businesses ready for their next stage of growth and aims to spotlight entrepreneurs who are strengthening Brooklyn's economy, creating jobs, expanding opportunity, and investing in their communities. To be eligible, businesses must be headquartered or primarily operating in Brooklyn, generate between $1 million and $5 million in annual revenue, demonstrate a clear growth strategy and strong potential for expansion, show evidence of innovation, execution capacity, and business momentum, contribute to Brooklyn's economy through job creation, local hiring, community impact, or neighborhood investment, and be prepared to participate in a competitive screening process and a live pitch event if selected as a finalist. In addition to grant funding, selected finalists pitch live at Barclays Center and receive access to investor introductions, capital matchmaking, strategic advisory sessions, and connections to procurement and growth opportunities. Businesses ready to grow, hire, expand their market reach, or deepen their impact in Brooklyn are the program's target applicants.

The Palmdale Commercial Façade and Tenant Improvement Grant Program provides Palmdale, California small businesses with grants of up to $25,000 to fund exterior façade improvements, tenant improvements, and ADA accessibility upgrades to their commercial properties. Administered by the City of Palmdale and funded by Measure AV dollars, the program launches as a pilot with $125,000 in initial funding, distributed to ensure at least $25,000 in awards go to businesses within each of the city's five council districts. The program is designed to encourage private investment in Palmdale storefronts, improve business accessibility citywide, and enhance the visual character of the city's commercial corridors. Applications are evaluated through a 100-point scoring rubric that emphasizes visible impact, project readiness, and equity. As part of the pilot program structure, up to 50 percent of an awarded grant may be disbursed upfront upon execution of the award agreement, with the remaining balance issued after project completion and verification. This upfront disbursement is a program guarantee rather than a discretionary option, designed to reduce the cash flow barrier that many small businesses face when funding upfront project costs. To qualify, applicants must operate a small business located within the City of Palmdale. Specific eligibility criteria, including business size definitions, ownership requirements, allowable improvements, contractor requirements, and match commitments, are outlined in the program's official Guidelines Document. Staff have indicated that state definitions for small and micro businesses will be incorporated into the guidelines, and a separate micro-business grant may be considered in the future depending on program uptake.

Lenovo has launched Backing Every Business, a new global initiative designed to close the support gap facing small businesses. In partnership with actress, entrepreneur and investor Eva Longoria, founders around the world can apply for $10,000 in grant funding, AI-enabled technology and one-to-one mentorship, including from Longoria herself. In addition to direct grant funding, winners will receive a technology upgrade from Lenovo, valued at $12,000.