Grant

September 15 - 21, 2017

  • $14,147,152 in nine Public Works project as follows:
    • $3 million to Newton County and the Newton County Water and Sewer District, Morocco, Indiana, to fund the construction of water and wastewater infrastructure for a county-owned site to accommodate development of a new 20-acre industrial park supporting continued implementation of the Newton County Industrial Infrastructure Project. Once completed, the project will serve as a catalyst for enhancing the region’s top innovation cluster of agribusiness, food development and technology, and for attracting new commercial and industrial development and job creation to the region. The grantees estimate that this investment will create 107 jobs and leverage $265.8 million in private investment.
    • $2,149,300 to the City of Litchfield, Illinois, to support the expansion of infrastructure consisting of road, water, sewer and storm water to provide commercial and industrial land for businesses to continue industrial development in the City of Litchfield. The park expansion area will be zoned industrial and is targeted to attract light manufacturing, assembly, packaging and wholesale warehousing developments. This project will bring in new investment, jobs, and related economic activity for housing and other community amenities, which will diversify and strengthen the regional economy. The grantee estimates that this investment will create 600 jobs and leverage $39 million in private investment.
    • $2 million to the Oklahoma City Airport Trust, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, to fund the expansion and improvement to hangars located at the Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City. This investment will help improve two existing hangars to enable the capacity to provide maintenance, repair, and overhaul to larger aircraft. When completed, the project will support job retention, advance the aviation industry in the region and improve economic development. The grantee estimates that this investment will help save 1,067 jobs.
    • $1,987,512 to St. Joseph’s College, Standish, Maine, to fund the construction of a barn, classroom and entrepreneurial space, biomass heating plant and related facilities to establish the Institute for Local Food Systems Innovation. When completed, the new center will help bolster the food production-to-consumption value chain in southern Maine, encourage and support food-business entrepreneurship and innovation, and restore farming and food-related manufacturing throughout the region. The grantee estimates that this investment will create 88 jobs and leverage $2.5 million in private investment.
    • $1.6 million to the Waianae Community Re-Development Corporation, Waianae, Hawaii, to fund the construction of a new building to house agricultural produce processing and a farmer training facility in Waianae, Hawaii. Once completed, the project will develop infrastructure to improve economic capacity and assets that make it possible for entrepreneurs and small business enterprises to be more operationally efficient, which will result in new higher paying jobs and additional employment throughout the region. The grantee estimates that this investment will create 200 jobs and leverage $200,000 in private investment.
    • $1.2 million to the Village of Questa, New Mexico, to support the expansion of a Business Park site located in the Village of Questa, Taos County, with improvements including the build out of roadways, drainage system, water and sanitary sewer, signage, parking, roadway lighting, and utilities connections. Once completed, the project will support current and prospective tenants in their efforts to expand operations resulting in increased private investment and job creation for the local economy. The grantee estimates that this investment will leverage $1.2 million in private investment.
    • $1.01 million to Innovate ABQ, Inc., Albuquerque, New Mexico, to fund the renovation of an existing building to establish the Innovate ABQ bioscience business incubator that will house labs with corresponding office space in Albuquerque. The improvements will create a rich and collaborative work environment that enables innovation to thrive, which will result in new higher paying jobs and additional employment throughout the region. The grantee estimates that this investment will create 155 jobs, save 80 jobs, and leverage $2.5 million in private investment.
    • $700,000 to America’s Central Port District, Granite City, Illinois, to fund the construction of a new rail line and reconstruction of an internal street crossing to accommodate the new rail infrastructure at its intermodal industrial park in Granite City. The rail construction will enhance the link between area manufactures and the nation’s freight transportation network and boost the region’s readiness and competitiveness, which will bring in new investment, jobs, and related economic activity to diversify and strengthen the regional economy.
    • $500,340 to the Village of Osceola, Wisconsin, to fund the construction of a fabrication lab and workforce development facility in Village of Osceola. The facility will address the regions skill gaps and further support entrepreneurial community through prototype development, which will attract and retain skilled manufacturing workers and diversify and strengthen the regional economy. The grantee estimates that this investment will create 39 jobs, save 55 jobs, and leverage $975,000 in private investment.
  • $1.45 million in four Economic Adjustment assistance projects as follows:
    • $875,000 to the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, to support market and industry research and analysis in support of the development of a regional Aerospace and Defense cluster with an emphasis on advanced manufacturing. Project work activities include examination of attracting business firms and activity to the March Joint Powers Authority locations, assessment of economic opportunities at general aviation airports, and completion of a market analysis of the unmanned aerial systems. The project will support higher skills, higher wages, and employment opportunities for the region’s workforce.
    • $250,000 to the First District Association of Local Governments, Watertown, South Dakota, to fund a Revolving Loan Fund that will add to the lending capacity of the First District Association of Local Governments to meet the needs of disaster recovery in the six counties of Clark, Codington, Deuel, Grant, Hamlin, and Roberts, South Dakota. The investment will provide economic diversification through the development of new and expanding businesses which will strengthen the local economy, support private capital investment and create jobs throughout the region. The grantee estimates that this investment will create 30 jobs and leverage $500,000 in private investment.
    • $175,000 to the International Economic Development Council, Washington, DC, to support the coordination and development of a Volunteer Assistance Program for Hurricane Irma Disaster Impacted Communities. This investment will focus on quickly assessing economic recovery needs of the disaster impacted communities and matching, preparing, deploying and supporting experienced volunteers to affected communities. The program will help economic developers, individual communities and the regional government to locate and access necessary resources, as well as build capacity to maintain the momentum required for long-term disaster recovery.
    • $150,000 to the Government of Guam Economic Development Authority, to fund the development and implementation of a Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy for Guam. Guam serves as a major shipping and commercial hub for many of the smaller island nations in the Micronesia region of the Western Pacific. This investment will diversify Guam’s existing strategy plan to lay the foundation for economic vitalization, as well as help prepare for the planned increase of U.S. military personnel making it more resilient to natural disasters and economic downturns
  • $17,389,606 in 42 projects under the 2017 Regional Innovation Strategies’ (RIS) competition, which includes $13,215,306 in 27 projects under the i6 Challenge and $4,174,300 in 15 projects under the Seed Fund Support Grant. The RIS program is designed to spur innovative capacity-building activities in regions across the Nation. The i6 Challenge supports the creation of commercialization and entrepreneurship centers that encourage and reward innovative, groundbreaking ideas to accelerate technological innovation, new venture formation, job creation, and economic growth. The Seed Fund Support Grant program provides funding for technical assistance and operational costs that support the feasibility, planning, formation, launch, or scale of cluster-based seed funds that will invest their capital in innovation-based startups with a potential for high growth.
  • i6 Challenge
    • $500,000 to the Community Venture Foundation, Fayetteville, Arkansas, to fund the Community Venture Foundation which will the funds to build the public and private capacity to invent, improve, and bring to market new products and services through the expansion of an existing proof-of-concept center, located in Northwest Arkansas. The targeted region is located within the greater Ozarks Regional Innovation Cluster for retail, supply chain and food-related businesses. The anticipated impact of this initiative will be a broad-based culture of idea generation; an estimated 575 new ventures created, scaled, and sustained; 700+ high-wage jobs created; and increased global competitiveness through the commercialization of technologies and entrepreneurship.
    • $500,000 to UI Labs, Chicago, Illinois, to support the growth of UI Labs’ City Digital program by allowing the organization to increase the number of innovative, market-ready urban infrastructure solutions developed through its public-private consortium, designing proof-of-concepts with the potential to yield a regional Smart City cluster of new businesses, new jobs, and economic efficiencies. Since launching in March 2015, City Digital has delivered a portfolio of 12 smart city technology solutions, including two that have been successfully introduced into commercial markets. By closing an anticipated gap in operational support for targeted program growth, the i6 Challenge funding will 1) Accelerate the emerging Smart City technology cluster that City Digital is leading in the Chicago region; and 2) Accelerate commercialization program outcomes that can be used to attract additional investment.
    • $500,000 to the University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, to fund the launch of UMD’s Mixed/Augmented/Virtual Reality Innovation Center (MAVRIC). The Center will accelerate the commercialization of promising Immersive Media (IM) technologies, and fill the regional gap in the technology cluster by creating a network of influencers, executive champions, and support groups for IM startups. MAVRIC will also focus on increasing the number of STEAM students from both urban and rural underserved communities. By the end of the grant, it is expected that a minimum of 10 new companies will be started in the region. Two years after the end of the grant, 20 new companies will be started, and 50 new companies will be started five years after the end of the grant.
    • $500,000 to Cal Poly Corporation, San Luis Obispo, California, to fund the Coast Innovation Lab & Accelerator program, which will create a regional entrepreneurial ecosystem in the County of San Luis Obispo, a predominately rural area in central coast of California. By expanding entrepreneurial infrastructure and promoting commercialization of products and concurrent development of potential new companies, the region hopes to counter the impending effects of the closure of a nuclear power plant. The project will focus on increasing regional economic diversification, particularly in the industry clusters of Knowledge & Innovation and Advanced Manufacturing. By supporting entrepreneurs and the development of new technologies and products, the Cal Poly Corporation estimates that five years after the grant end, they will generate 648 new jobs with an average annual salary of over $57 thousand.
    • $500,000 to the Wireless Research Center of North Carolina, Wake Forest, North Carolina, to support support RIoT and its ecosystem partners and stakeholders in creating an accelerator program to drive innovation, commercialization and market execution of Internet of Things (IoT) technologies. The RIoT Accelerator Program (RAP) will facilitate entrepreneurship end-to-end from academic research and education through to rapid commercial growth. RAP will provide access to the technology services industry vital to executing large commercial projects and seed investor capital necessary to launch new products and services to market.
    • $500,000 to the Washington State Department of Commerce, Olympia, Washington, to fund the Washington State Department of Commerce to establish a vision and comprehensive strategy for Washington’s maritime industry to accelerate innovation and support the modernization of the maritime industry. Washington State’s maritime sector is uniquely poised to become a global leader in innovation and sustainability, ensuring that the state thrives in the increasingly competitive national and international marketplace for maritime services. With EDA’s support, this project will accelerate technology innovation in Washington’s maritime sector by identifying gaps and opportunities which will be essential to continue growth in job creation, retention, recruitment, and expansion.
    • $500,000 to the University of Texas at El Paso, Texas, to support the University’s efforts to create an innovation-based small-business ecosystem for the Technology Research and Innovation Acceleration Park (tRIAc). The project will increase capacity at the eastern outskirt area of El Paso County which has experienced a loss in manufacturing jobs due to facility closures. tRIAc will focus on the development of an advanced, technology-based industrial economy in three strategic areas: aerospace and defense technologies, advanced manufacturing, and energy engineering. It is expected that small business capacity enhancement through the project will create at least 30 new engineering, technical, and administrative positions.
    • $500,000 to the Marshall University Research Corporation, Huntington, West Virginia, to create the RCBI AERO, an aerospace manufacturing proof of concept center in Cabell and Wayne Counties in West Virginia. This region has traditionally relied on the coal industry but with the decline in recent years, manufacturers found an opportunity to leverage existing resources and diversify their products and services for the aerospace manufacturing industry. The Center’s focus will be on preparing manufacturers to enter the aerospace industry which will produce long-lasting economic impacts in the area. RCBI estimates that five years’ post-grant, the program would have assisted approximately 120 entrepreneurs and businesses, created 90 new jobs, and leveraged $1.65 million in private investment.
    • $500,000 to Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York, to promote entrepreneurship in Central New York (CNY) in innovations that monitor and control energy and environmental quality in built environments—homes, schools, offices, factories, and neighborhoods—and in related applications, such as food production, transport and preservation. This project will address and counter the negative impacts due to import competition and global trade, both drivers for losses of more than 22,000 jobs in the CNY manufacturing workforce. At the end of the three-year project period, Syracuse University expects to support the establishment of 10 new ventures and 15 new products commercialized by existing companies. Five years after the end of the project, the program expects to support 200 jobs created and retained in the region.
    • $500,000 to the Welcoming Center for New Pennsylvanians, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to fund the Welcoming Center for New Pennsylvanians, in partnership with the University City Science will launch the Global Startup Accelerator (“GSA”) to foster the global innovation ecosystem in Philadelphia. Startups in the Greater Philadelphia region face challenges in establishing strategies that will enable them to effectively scale into global markets. GSA will leverage the knowledge of successful entrepreneurs in the region to help early stage technology startups as they plan for future market expansions. Five years after the grant, the anticipated impacts include 240 direct new jobs, $6 million in foreign investments and $12 million in follow on investments.
    • $500,000 to the Regents of the University of California, Oakland, California, to fund the creation of the Verde Innovation Network for Entrepreneurship (the VINE), a California statewide network of interconnected incubators, innovation hubs, research centers and other places, to support innovators and entrepreneurs in agriculture, food, and natural resource technologies. The VINE will be a catalyst to accelerate the commercialization of technologies that create transformative advances in food, agriculture, and natural resources in California, across both rural and urban communities.
    • $499,972 to Oregon Built Environment and Sustainable Technologies Center, Inc., Portland, Oregon, to support the the Oregon BEST to replicate its already successful model for proof of concept projects in Washington and increase the chance of successful proof of concept projects through expanded accelerator curriculum and preparing companies for a greater chance of follow-on seed investment. Bringing a cleantech innovation to market faces significant barriers, not limited to the fact that these are highly regulated industries and have risk-averse customers. Oregon BEST’s project will alleviate these issues by giving technology innovators the resources and training necessary to successfully complete a proof of concept project that prepares them for investment and market adoption. Based on Oregon BEST’s successful track record, this expansion program is expected to have similar impactful results.
    • $499,920 to Greater Hamilton Center for Business and Technology, Cincinnati, Ohio, to allow allow the Hamilton Mill and University of Cincinnati to expand, execute, and market specific programs to enhance the ability of their incubator to support the regional economy, focused on startup manufacturing and smarter city initiatives throughout the Greater Hamilton Region in Southwestern Ohio. This region has been negatively affected by the decline in manufacturing jobs, and is working on applying its resident expertise in light manufacturing to emerging cleantech sectors. Their unique “City as a Lab” approach allows cleantech companies to use infrastructure located at the City of Hamilton utilities as a beta test to demonstrate market viability to funders and customers.
    • $499,914 to Santa Fe College, Gainesville, Florida, to establish the Innovative Product Development Center, a regional commercialization center, which will provide community-based innovators and inventors with an array of services and support ranging from proof-of-concept to commercialization within the Alachua and Bradford counties in Florida. The project will focus on developing industry clusters in the life sciences, software/web development and niche manufacturing.
    • $499,853 to the University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina, to support the USC Center for Applied Innovation and Advanced Analytics, a public-private partnership that works with regional government, academia, and business for developing in-demand skills, accelerating research innovations into markets, and driving regional economic development. The Center will develop technical expertise in analytics, cognitive computing (IBM Watson) and Internet of Things (IoT) in vertical markets that include predictive maintenance and supply chain, higher education, finance, insurance and health care.
    • $499,833 to the National Institute of Aerospace Associates, Hampton, Virginia, to support the National Institute of Aerospace (NIA), together with the cities of Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News, Portsmouth, and Norfolk, to create 757 Accelerate, an accelerator program that will focus on the development of high growth, quality ventures that will attract capital, create jobs, and ultimately, diversify and grow the Hampton Roads economy in Southeastern Virginia. The need for this project stems from the Hampton Roads region and economy’s overdependence on military spending, and with the recent cutbacks in federal spending have had serious effects on the economy. The 757 Accelerate program will focus on accelerating companies in emerging technology clusters as well as a focus on recruiting veteran entrepreneurs.
    • $499,679 to the Regents of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, to fund the expansion of the Fast Forward Medical Innovation (FFMI) Hub at the University of Michigan by developing a scalable regional education and training program that encourages and enriches the Hub’s biomedical innovation ecosystem across the State of Michigan and the greater Midwest Region. This investment will enhance human health through biomedical innovation and build an ecosystem and culture that increases job growth and global competitiveness of Michigan and the greater regions. In three years, FEMI expects to support 45 life science technology projects, which will create 8 new companies and raise $12 million in follow-on funding.
    • $499,608 to the California Clean Energy Fund, San Francisco, California to fund the California Sustainable Energy Entrepreneur Development (CalSEED) initiative, that in collaboration with four existing Regional Innovation Clusters, will work on generating new innovations, new businesses, jobs and economic enhancements in California’s Disadvantaged Area Community (DAC) regions. With EDA’s support, CalSEED will scale-up its capacity to inspire, engage and support start-ups from underrepresented communities economically disadvantaged, rural, women, and veteran entrepreneurs from throughout the region. Once complete, CalSEED expects to have supported the launch of 100 new cleantech products, raised $41 million in private investment for startups and created 275 direct jobs through CalSEED-related investments.
    • $498,216 to the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Alabama, to fund the creation of the University of Alabama at Birmingham proof-of-concept incubator that will provide the facilities, training opportunities, guidance and funding access necessary for faculty, students and staff to launch and nurture start-up companies that will create jobs and enhance regional economic health.
    • $498,125 to the Pittsburgh Lifesciences Greenhouse, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to fund the Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse which will implement a regional innovation strategy to grow and elevate the stature of the nascent health information technology cluster in Western Pennsylvania. The project will focus on job creation through company growth in the forms of both producers and users of advanced software, related data collection deployment.
    • $498,000 to the Governor’s Office of Economic Development, Pierre, South Dakota, to fund the creation of the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, a proof of concept program to efficiently evaluate and move bioscience innovations to market and develop the skilled workforce needed to commercially manufacture products currently in clinical trials, recently approved, and at earlier technology readiness levels. In addition, the project will bring together key partners to create the South Dakota Bioscience Commercialization Alliance, a public-private partnership involving the Governor’s Office of Economic Development, bioscience association and industry partners, South Dakota universities, health care organizations, and private equity investors to support the Center. These efforts will impact the region through next gen entrepreneurs, jobs created and retained, SBIR/STTR proposals submitted, and workforce training.
    • $492,357 to the Giving Back Fund, Inc., Los Angeles, California, to support the City Innovate Foundation (CIF), a nonprofit that works with local government, private industry and academia to help address critical challenges through open innovation, will implement and launch the “STIR for Cities” program. This program will build on the success of the San Francisco regional program and expand it to a national network of regions that accelerate the commercialization of cutting-edge innovations in technology services to the public sector and expands entrepreneurial and investment opportunities within regions. The national program will select cities and then connect those government agencies with talented entrepreneurs and startups from across the world to develop technology products that help make government more accountable, efficient and responsive.
    • $485,716 to Hofstra University, Hempstead, New York, to establish the Healthcare Entrepreneurship Community Challenge (HECC) at Hofstra University which is a program that challenges entrepreneurs to develop new innovations to solve healthcare issues facing underserved communities in the New York City metropolitan area. HECC, a proof-of-concept/commercialization program, will foster high-growth entrepreneurship that will result in innovative new products and services; stimulate regional job growth; and increase quality, access and utilization to healthcare in underserved communities.
    • $483,323 to Florida A&M University, Tallahassee, Florida, to fund the Research Entrepreneurship and Commercialization Hub (REACH) to establish, strengthen, and connect technology proof of concept and commercialization programs, facilities and networks within the Tallahassee region. The project will create new technology commercialization opportunities, provide entrepreneurship training and support, expand commercialization services and incubation facilities and create new opportunities in underserved rural and urban communities in the region.
    • $454,532 to the University of Maine System, Orono, Maine, to fund the creation of the Maine Mass Timber Commercialization Center, based at the University of Maine. The Center will team up with industrial partners, trade organizations, construction firms, architects, and other stakeholders in the region to revitalize and diversify Maine’s forest-based economy by bringing innovative mass timber manufacturing to the State of Maine. The emergence of this new innovation based industry cluster will result in positive economic impacts to both local and regional economies, particularly in Maine’s rural communities.
    • $406,569 to the Iowa State University of Science and Technology, Ames, Iowa, to fund a joint project among Iowa State University, the ISU Research Park, the ISU Startup Factory, Ag Startup Engine, and Agriculture Entrepreneurship Initiative, to address key gaps in the innovation ecosystem in the Central Iowa region. These gaps include a lack of accelerator programs aimed at supporting startups focusing on commercializing food technology innovations (broadly defined for this project as food production, food safety and new food products) that will address the current and looming global food security challenges, and the need to link companies in rural states to experienced advisers or mentors and investors.
    • $399,689 to Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma, to create the Oklahoma State University’s New Product Development Center (NPDC) to establish a working prototype development center to support entrepreneurs and small manufacturers from concept generation to limited production runs. This new facility will allow manufacturers to create a working prototype which will result in quicker diversification of their product lines and markets. The result of this project should yield strong economic impact growth for the eastern part of the state.
  • Seed Fund Support Grant
    • $300,000 to the Regional Accelerator and Innovation Network, Portland, Oregon, to create the Willamette Valley Seed Fund (“WVSF”), which will be an equity-based, sustainable pool of capital to fund early-stage companies in Oregon’s underrepresented and unconnected South Willamette Valley and Mid-Coast Region. The WVSF will focus on the abundant number of technology startups in our region that spring from the hundreds of millions of dollars in research being done at Oregon State University and the University of Oregon in innovation clusters that include biotechnology, clean energy technology, computers and peripherals, electronics/instrumentation, chemistry, industrial/energy, Internet/web services, IT services, medical devices/equipment, mobile technology, pharmaceuticals, robotics, semiconductors, software, nanotechnology, unmanned aerial vehicles, and marine science.
    • $300,000 to the Biogenerator, St. Louis, Missouri, to fund the BioGenerator, through its St. Louis Regional Bioscience Cluster Seed Fund Expansion Project, to increase access to early stage capital for emerging companies in St. Louis’ bioscience cluster by scaling BioGenerator’s Seed Fund programs through a new investment strategy, an expanded investment thesis, education and technical assistance for startups, and outreach to investment and syndication partners. BioGenerator estimates that it will support 60 jobs supported and $110 million in additional investment attracted during the project and a total of 160 jobs and $411 million in additional investment after the project closes.
    • $300,000 to the Iowa Foundation for Microenterprise and Community Bitality, Ames, Iowa, to fund the Iowa Rural Equity Project (IREP) to create three new sources of equity capital targeted to support strategic rural ventures with potential to create jobs in multiple rural communities and rural areas. Focusing on agricultural and energy technologies, IREP will create three equity fund initiatives, including a Community Capital Network with a $4 million equity fund, a Rural Angel Investor Network with $20 million equity investment capacity, and a Charitable Equity Endowment of $6 million that authorizes up to $3 million in Program Related Investments for Strategic Rural Ventures. When fully deployed, the combined $30 million in capital capacity is expected to create or retain 300 direct jobs with average wages above rural county medians.
    • $300,000 to Jumpstart Inc., Cleveland, Ohio, to fund JumpStart to create a $30-$35M JS MedTech Fund focused on biomedical devices, diagnostics and healthcare IT startups in the Northeast Ohio region in an effort to fill an early-stage capital gap estimated to be as large as $392M in 2014. JumpStart anticipates making 20-25 seed stage investments ranging from $100K to $2M and estimates five-year impacts to include $125m in follow-on investment capital, 25 new business starts, and 210 direct jobs
    • $300,000 to Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, to fund BFTP and its partners to support a venture fund that will provide seed investments and management support to technology-focused entrepreneurs in a large region of Central PA. The 1855 Capital Fund (the Fund) will be a $10-20 million seed stage venture capital fund raised primarily from the Penn State Alumni Network. Domiciled on the campus of Penn State, the dual purpose of the Fund is to be an equity capital source for University-affiliated, high-growth potential companies emerging from the University ecosystem in largely rural Central Pennsylvania and other under-capitalized campus locations while providing a risk-adjusted return for its investors. Five years after the end of the grant performance period, BFTP expects to have made 15 company investments in companies that will have secured $65 million in follow-on financing, created 200 new jobs with a median annual salary of $72,000.
    • $300,000 to the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada, Reno, Nevada, to jumpstart the Reno and Northern Nevada seed investment ecosystem. The Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada (EDAWN) will launch an annual seed fund and investor conference to gather the greater region’s prominent investors and companies and to create a new private investment vehicle, the Reno Angel Conference Seed Fund, that will be funded and allocated annually to provide at least $1 million in early-stage financing for the most promising local business startups emerging from the event each year. In five years, EDAWN expects to have supported the creation of 300 jobs, raised $4 million capital from 100 investors, and invested in 24 companies.
    • $300,000 to Invests Nebraska Corporation, Lincoln, Nebraska. Because of its robust agricultural diversity, economy and renowned research and innovation resources, Nebraska is well primed to be a hub for sustainable agriculture technology or more commonly called, AgTech. Invest Nebraska Corporation’s (INC’s) project will reach the state’s 93 counties, 89 of which have a population of less than 50,000 and will unlock regional capital to support a robust early-stage capital ecosystem that is currently lacking in the state.
    • $300,000 to the Port of Benton, Richland, Washington, to recruit and empower seed-stage investors, educate CEOs of early startups, foster cross-sector collaboration, market a Tri-Cities fund and, ultimately, grow the Tri-Cities Research District’s (TCRD’s) entrepreneurial ecosystem. The project will expand the pool of available investment capital and supportive educational resources for local startups in southeastern Washington State, while further capitalizing on the energy and technology-based research at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). Within eight years, the Port expects to have supported the creation of 75 companies and 546 jobs.
    • $300,000 to New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, New Mexico, to invest in companies representing established and emerging regional innovation clusters that build on the strengths and assets of New Mexico and NMSU, including bioscience, the energy-water-agriculture nexus, health technology, and digital media. AIF will operate and recruit final investors for an existing fund, found and launch a new fund, and strengthen regional innovation clusters.
    • $299,995 to the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce Foundation, Inc., Mobile, Alabama, to fund the creation, launch and administration of a Innovation PortAL (IP) seed fund supporting entrepreneurs in the Gulf Coast region. While IP and supporting community programs have been successful in preparing entrepreneurial businesses for funding, a very significant gap of seed funding resources exists. There are currently very limited seed funding offerings targeted to entrepreneurs in the Gulf Coast region, which results in the region’s high-potential entrepreneurs either moving to markets outside of our region in search of capital or they are putting their entrepreneurial efforts on hold.
    • $299,178 to Louisiana Tech University, Ruston, Louisiana, to fund Louisiana Tech University in collaboration with its regional partners will lead the planning, organization, and scale of the Fund for Louisiana’s Future (FLF). FLF will be a professionally-managed, member-directed seed fund designed to both provide critical capital to early-stage companies in the I-20 Innovation Corridor in northern Louisiana that utilize innovative technology, have the ability to grow rapidly, create quality jobs in the region, and create significant value for investors. In its sixth year, LaTech estimates that FLF will have raised $12m in funding, made 48 investments, and recruited 300 new individual and 30 new institutional investors.
    • $279,202 to the Winrock International Institute for Agricultural Development, Little Rock, Arkansas, to support the expansion of the Innovation Fund Investment Fund (Investment Fund), which is expanding in concert with Winrock’s Delta Innovation Fund and the Arkansas Regional Innovation Hub’s (Hub) Innovation Fund programs. In Arkansas’s strongest clusters—biomedical and health, nanotechnology and advanced manufacturing, and information technology and data analytics—it expects to assist 103 proof-of-concept companies, generate 155 jobs, attract five corporate investors that will invest $3.5 million, and invest up to $50,000 in seed capital in each of the 103 participating companies
    • $275,000 to the Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, Honolulu, Hawaii, to fund the Hawaii Commercialization Seed Fund project that will increase the capacity of Hawaii’s startups commercializing research to establish corporate partnerships, align with commercial opportunities and access the necessary early-stage investment funding to take an innovation to market. The project will support the launch and scale-up of an existing $1.7 million equity investment fund, established as a public-private partnership to support Hawaii startups commercializing research, to $20 million and will support the Fund’s launch efforts to educate corporates on the commercial potential of the research activities in the state, and recruit them to be commercialization partners for Hawaii startups.
    • $170,925 to Innovation Depot, Inc., Birmingham, Alabama, to create a fund at Innovation Depot to expand modern-day Birmingham’s burgeoning startup scene in the financial services, healthcare, and technology industries. The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) has spurred significant growth throughout the State, especially in the healthcare sector. Innovators now come to Birmingham to construct technologies to improve and advance existing healthcare solutions. This fund will enable entrepreneurs in these sectors to scale companies in the region.
    • $150,000 to the Enterprise Center of Johnson County, Inc., Shawnee Mission, Kansas . In collaboration with Kansas City’s premier entrepreneurial, philanthropic, business and civic organizations, the Enterprise Center will administer and finance a $5 million equity pre-seed fund. While Kansas City has done an excellent job of growing entrepreneurs and supporting them with training and services, the gap in early-stage funding is a major hindrance for the entrepreneurial support network. The seed fund will advance our start-up support efforts and fill the gap in access to seed-stage capital, as there are virtually no options for entrepreneurs seeking between $50,000 and $350,000 of funding. By Q4 2019, ECJC expects the fund’s portfolio companies to have created 40 jobs and generated $2 million in revenue.
  • $568,000 in six Technical Assistance-University Center projects listed below. EDA’s University Center program is a five-year, competitively-based partnership between EDA and academic institutions to provide technical assistance and research and development tools to increase productivity, spur innovation, and promote entrepreneurship to help increase long-term regional competitiveness and economic diversification.
    • $150,000 to Bowling Green University/Ohio University-Athens, OH
    • $150,000 to the University of Wisconsin System, Madison, WI
    • $80,000 to the University of Wisconsin System, Menomonie, WI
    • $80,000 to the Regents of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
    • $54,000 to the University of Illinois, Chicago, IL
    • $54,000 to the University of Illinois, Urbana, IL
  • $397,402 in four Local Technical Assistance projects as follows:
    • $307,063 to the Northwest Arkansas Economic Development District, Inc., Harrison, Arkansas, to the Northwest Arkansas Economic Development District Strategic Economic Assessments for Marion, Newton, and Searcy counties in Arkansas. Once completed, this study will help establish goals and priorities for their communities to provide guidance on how to better diversify and strengthen the local economy, which will lead to new opportunities and creation of jobs throughout the region
    • $48,499 to the Gila County Industrial Development Authority, Globe, Arizona, to support the Gila County Industrial Development Authority with a Community Needs Assessment to identify the existing conditions and resources in Globe, Arizona. Once completed, the study will identify opportunities in workforce development, economic diversification, and tourism, which will lead to the creation
    • $21,840 to the Clearwater Economic Development Association, Inc., Lewiston, Idaho, to fund funds the 2017 North Central Idaho Tourism Hospitality Training Needs Assessment to create a plan for developing a training system for frontline staff directly employed in the tourism industry and in ancillary businesses that support the travel industry. Once completed, this study will bring together the public and private sectors in the creation of an economic development roadmap to diversify and strengthen the regional economy.
    • $20,000 to the Port of Cascade Locks, Oregon, to support the Port of Cascade Locks with funds to hire a consultant to conduct a feasibility study to determine the best use for the 37-acre airport property in Cascade Locks. Once completed, this study will provide insight on methods to address the high demand for commercial, light industrial and housing in the area, which will diversify and boost economic development throughout the region.
  • $1,675,288 in 22 Partnership Planning projects to support the development and implementation of the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) process. The CEDS process is designed to bring together the public and private sectors in the creation of an economic development roadmap to diversify and strengthen the regional economy.