ASPIRE is an intensive program that prepares startups for the investments and partnerships necessary to launch their venture. Mentors-in-residence work one-on-one with startups to simulate due diligence conversations and integrate feedback into deal room materials in real-time. You will work with high-caliber mentors throughout the program that have experience investing or partnering with startups like yours. Startups will leave with a clear articulation of their investment needs, including the investment ask and planned milestones for the round. Take part in a mock board meeting to prepare yourself for fundraising and investor conversations. Spend time creating and refining deal room materials to use during the fundraising process. Invest your time and energy into work product for a deal room discussion, not a demo day pitch. Work through real-world disaster scenarios with your team to discover how to best prepare for the unexpected. Connect with fellow founders and leverage the VentureWell investor network after the program ends.

Future Founders invites you to apply for the Early Entrepreneur Bootcamp, which is sponsored by the AB InBev Foundation (ABIF) with the financial and technical support provided by ZX Ventures. A six-month program focused on supporting founders from underrepresented populations (e.g., Black, Hispanic, female, non-binary), the Early Entrepreneur Bootcamp will guide early-stage entrepreneurs as they navigate the journey of launching their own business. Participation in the program will be 100% virtual and built on a framework of live skill-development workshops covering topics ranging from design thinking and customer discovery, to leadership, communication, and pitching. Founders who successfully complete the attendance and participation requirements of the Early Entrepreneur Bootcamp will also receive a $5,000 non-dilutive grant to help kickstart their business.

The climate cohort of the Hub Fellowship is a 10-week, full-time, paid program that trains engineers, scientists, technologists, and business experts who already understand climate how to better apply their ideas to policy. Jointly hosted by the Aspen Tech Policy Hub and the Aspen Institute’s Energy and Environment Program, the first climate cohort is tentatively scheduled from June 2 to August 12, 2022. The program will be a mixture of in-person and online learning, pending COVID-19 restrictions. Applicants of all backgrounds with technical expertise in climate change are eligible to apply. Admitted applicants receive an $18,000 stipend to enable their participation.

Together with Clean Energy Trust, Nicor Gas is proud to support the launch of the Nicor Gas Multicultural Innovator Award – a $25,000 equity and inclusion grant to support the development of a clean energy technology startup with a minority founder or CEO. In addition to the grant, recipients of the inaugural award – part of Clean Energy Trust’s Diversity Equity and Inclusion initiative – will receive 12 months of business mentorship and heightened exposure to investors and customers. Entrepreneurs and businesses making a positive environmental impact throughout the state will be considered.

Small Illinois businesses, or those with a substantial presence in the state, with a focus on renewable energy, energy efficiency, smart buildings and cities, energy storage, water, ag-tech, digital solutions for operational efficiencies, reduced maintenance costs, customer engagement and/or worker training and management may be eligible to apply for the award. Other company criteria include:

• Founder or CEO who identifies as Black, Indigenous and/or person of color
• 2-12 full-time employees
• No more than $3 million in funding raised; must be able to demonstrate at least three to six months of funding runway
• Can be product or service-based; does not need to be market-ready, but is preferred

Evergreen Climate Innovations is on a mission with the U.S. Bank Foundation to support underserved and underrepresented cleantech entrepreneurs. The U.S. Bank Foundation Cleantech Inclusion Award is a grant awarded to entrepreneurs who are female and/or people of color and who are building innovative companies that benefit the environment, create jobs, and drive economic development.

The primary purpose of CalSEED is to address a critical funding gap in the early stages of the energy technology development pipeline. Most entrepreneurs and researchers require multiple rounds of funding over several years to successfully commercialize their new energy invention. To obtain this sustained, long-term funding – either through private capital or large government grants—entrepreneurs and researchers must first demonstrate that their concept is feasible.

CalSEED provides small funding awards to help California entrepreneurs, researchers and businesses prove out the feasibility of new scientific concepts for energy applications. These small funding awards, along with support services, provide a launch pad to help entrepreneurs be successful in their clean energy ventures.

MassCEC’s Catalyst and Diversity in Cleantech – Early-Stage (DICES) Programs provide grants of up to $65,000 to researchers and early-stage companies looking to demonstrate initial prototypes of their clean energy technologies. The Programs are jointly administered by MassCEC and MassVentures with the primary intent of stimulating the commercialization of clean energy technologies developed in the Commonwealth. Awarded funds are used to demonstrate the feasibility of technologies in specific industry applications in order to obtain increased industry and investor interest. Recipients must use funding for projects that move their technologies towards commercialization.  This includes gathering initial data to demonstrate proof of concept, how the technology compares to existing technologies and competitive advantages of the technology or to develop a prototype for the technology.

The FORGE Product Development Grant (FPDG) is non-dilutive funding awarded to a startup(s) to support the development of a physical product. This Supply Chain Disruption offering is dedicated specifically to remedying the effects of global supply chain disruptions on cleantech oriented startup companies.

The goal of the grant is to remove barriers to scale and manufacturing, providing the necessary funds for disruption driven redesigns, or to offset part markups driven by disruptions, or to build critical inventory as a guard against future disruptions, or other creative solutions to mitigating disruptions.

This grant will range between $5k-$25k, and must be used by the winning startup(s) to address a specific supply chain challenge, informed by an accompanying quote and/or work order.