Start.Pivot.Grow. Micro Grant

The City of Chicago provides financial assistance for job training through the Workforce Solutions program. The program subsidizes training for incumbent workers and new hires for qualified Chicago businesses. Reimbursement grants up to $250,000 may fund up to 100% of eligible expenses for businesses seeking to train current employees and/or new hires. Grants do not have to be repaid. Workforce Solutions grants cover qualified trainings, including on-the-job (OJT) training, leadership development, technology skills, workplace safety and more. The primary funding source for the program is derived from qualifying Tax Increment Financing (TIF) districts and/or proceeds from the City's Housing and Economic Development (HED) Bond.

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.

The Vibrancy Initiative is a collection of grant programs designed to support revitalization efforts that create jobs, reduce blight, and preserve and improve structures in Toledo, OH. The program includes three separate grants, all available on the same timeframe. Facade Improvement Grant Program The Facade Improvement Grant program helps property owners transform the facade of commercial, industrial, and mixed-use buildings by providing a 50% matching grant to reimburse expenses incurred during a comprehensive facade improvement. Planning Grant Program The Planning Grant Program provides financial support to small businesses and property owners seeking to activate ground-floor commercial spaces for occupancy by a new business – particularly in historically significant legacy commercial corridors. White Box Grant Program The White Box Grant program helps property owners bring vacant first-floor commercial spaces up to current code to create a functional "white box" space ready for customization and occupancy by a business.

Santander's Cultivate Small Business program helps early-stage entrepreneurs in the food industry, with a focus on historically underserved businesses. Through this program, business owners participate in a 12-week virtual education curriculum that includes mentorship and networking. Business owners also receive up to $20,000 in capital grants. To qualify, you must have been in business for at least one year, have between one and 10 full-time employees and have generated between $25,000 and $1 million in revenue in the past year.

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.