Veteran Shark Tank

Comcast RISE is supporting the growth of all small businesses and entrepreneurs committed to uplifting their local communities. This year, Comcast RISE will award a total of 500 recipients across five cities a grant package that includes business consultation services, educational resources, a monetary grant, creative production, a media schedule, and a technology makeover. To date, 14,000 small businesses were awarded with over $140 million in monetary, marketing, and technology grants.

To complement the hundreds of free resources on Digital Ready, Verizon is awarding 50 small businesses with $10,000 grants. Complete any combination of two eligible courses or events between July 1, 2025 and December 10, 2025 to unlock the application.

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) provides a continuing opportunity for the rapid support of early-stage applied research to explore innovative new concepts with the potential for transformational and disruptive changes in energy technology. Spurring Projects to Advance Energy Research and Knowledge Swiftly (SPARKS) awards are intended to be flexible and may take the form of analyses or exploratory research that provides the agency with useful information for the subsequent development of focused technology programs. SPARKS awards may also support proof-of-concept research to develop a unique technology concept, either in an area not currently supported by the agency or as a potential enhancement to an ongoing focused technology program. Applications must propose concepts that are not covered by open ARPA-E focused FOAs and that do not represent incremental improvements over existing technology. SPARKS awards are defined as single-phase efforts of durations of 18 months or less with a total project cost of $500,000 or less and will be issued through Grants. ARPA-E expects to make approximately $10 million per fiscal year available for new awards, subject to the availability of appropriated funds. This announcement is purposely broad in scope to encourage the submission of the most innovative ideas in energy technology to support transformative energy R&D that complements ARPA-E’s primary mechanism, which is through the solicitation of research projects in focused technology programs.ARPA-E’s focused programs target specific areas of technology that the agency has identified through extensive interaction with the appropriate external stakeholders. The focused programs have significant potential impact on one or more of the statutory goals described in Section I.A of the FOA. Awards made in response to the solicitation for focused programs support the aggressive technical targets established in that solicitation. Taken in total, ARPA-E’s focused programs cover a broad swath of energy technologies and applications.

The Community & Worker Economic Transition Office will manage the Michigan Supplier Conversion Grant Program, which has allocated $31.8 million through federal funding and state support to help small- and mid-sized automotive manufacturers shift from producing parts, components or materials for internal combustion engine vehicles to materials needed in the electric vehicle supply chain. Eligible manufacturers may use these funds to offset costs associated with fixed assets, machinery and equipment, technology and training to support the transition of new production for electric vehicles or components. Eligible applicants must be domestic entities located in Michigan that are currently manufacturing products, components or materials for internal combustion engine vehicles. Companies must either have fewer than 1,500 employees or be operating a facility with 500 or fewer employees on the site where the retooling project will take place.

The objective of this funding opportunity is to support investigator-initiated, phase I clinical trials for diagnostic and therapeutic interventions for heart, lung, blood, and sleep (HLBS) disorders in adults and children. The proposed trial can be single or multisite. Applicants applying for funding under this NOFO should be ready to initiate the clinical trial within the first quarter of the project period. Discussion, submission, and attainment of applicable regulatory (FDA, DSMB, IRB) approvals, and establishment of drug (and placebo, if applicable) supplies, and any necessary third-party agreements should be established by the time of award. If time and support for these and other pre-clinical and/or trial readiness activities are desired, applicants should consider the companion NOFO which utilizes an R61/R33 phased approach.