Raleigh Impact Partner Grant

The Working Lands Enterprise Initiative (WLEI) offers grants that support forest, farm, and food businesses. Grants also go to producer associations, business assistance provider organizations, and more. The state's annual budget process decides the amount of funds available each year. The Working Lands Enterprise Board (WLEB) meets each summer to decide which grants to offer for the coming year based on available funds and needs across Vermont. This is an annual program that opens in September yearly. The program typically awards $10,000 to $100,000 to businesses in Vermont to fund market development, research and development, infrastructure, energy, or workforce development projects.

The Perry Chamber of Commerce Foundation has created a business development grant program to support Perry businesses in need of working capital for products, services, equipment, marketing, education, new staffing, or other improvements. The Perry Business Support Grant will provide up to $1,500 to individual applicant businesses able to showcase their identified need and how the funding dollars will be utilized to address challenges.

The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation is partnering to offer Entrepreneurial Training Program reimbursement of up to 75% of the $1,000 course fee. The course is designed to help early-stage startups vet their ideas and learn how to develop an investment-ready business plan. Grant recipients must comply with requirements that include meeting attendance standards and completing a business plan within six months of starting the program.

The Venture Pitch assistance micro-grant can reimburse up to $5000, spent on hiring an independent, third party to assist in the creation of an investor pitch deck, assemble a researched list of at least 5 investors to contact that includes the investor profile, the investment criteria, their portfolio, news releases of companies they invested in and create an advanced and well thought out financial and P&L model with market size, costs, pricing, sales key assumptions. To be eligible for this grant, applicants must have received a Phase I or Phase II SBIR/STTR award.

The South Side Pitch is an annual Shark Tank-style pitch competition that awards over $40,000 in total cash prizes to small business owners on the South Side of Chicago. Hosted by the Institute for Justice (IJ) Clinic on Entrepreneurship at the University of Chicago Law School (a nonprofit clinic that provides free legal assistance, resources, and advocacy for underserved Chicago-area entrepreneurs), the competition is now in its 12th year and has awarded more than $291,000 to over 1,300 South Side businesses since launching. Each year, over 100 applicants compete for one of five finalist spots, and all five finalists are guaranteed a cash prize at the end of the live event. The prize structure includes a $15,000 first place award, $10,000 for second place, $6,000 for third place, $3,000 for fourth place, and $1,500 for fifth place. Additional cash awards include the Audience Favorite Award ($1,500 for the finalist who receives the highest audience score), the South Side Sensation Award ($3,000 for the finalist who demonstrates exemplary social impact and showmanship), and the Rustandy Center Social Impact Award ($2,500 for a finalist selected by staff from the Rustandy Center for Social Sector Innovation at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business). Applicants apply during an open window each summer, with semifinalists selected from the applicant pool and asked to submit a video pitch. The public votes on the semifinalist videos to determine the People's Choice, who receives a guaranteed spot to compete in the final live event alongside the other finalists selected by IJ. Finalists receive pitch coaching from the IJ Clinic and pitching experts before delivering their pitches live to a citywide audience and a panel of judges at the Polsky Exchange North on the University of Chicago campus.