Ecosystem Grants: March 2023

Welcome to the March 2023 Ecosystem Grants blog post! This is a monthly series in which we outline various funding opportunities that ecosystem builders can apply for in order to better support their stakeholders. Here at EcoMap, we know how critical sources of funding are to the longevity of ecosystem building initiatives. Whether it’s to provide physical infrastructure like space or digital infrastructure like ecosystem mapping tools (cough cough), these initiatives take time, money, and stakeholder buy-in in order to live up to their full potential. Please check out the below capacity building grant opportunities that can help your organization (or an organization you know) take their work to the next level.
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As we look at the calendar today ... how the heck is it already March? It feels like just yesterday I was accidentally still writing 2022̶3 and now we're two months into the not-so-new year.

Last month was also a hectic one for ecosystem grant opportunities, with three big deadlines across three agencies:

• NSF's EPIIC (Enabling Partnerships to Increase Innovation Capacity) grant offered an epic boost to Institutions of Higher Education to the tune of up to $400,000
• SBA's Growth Accelerator Funding Competition offered between $50,000 - $200,000 to help ecosystem builders facilitate R&D from idea to impact
• And the USDA Rural Business Development Grants offered an uncapped opportunity for towns of under 50,000 to catalyze their rural ecosystems

March is a little lighter on agency-provided grants, as there are no current opportunities open for ecosystem builders from the SBA or EDA. However, the NSF keeps churning out new opportunities to bolster regional innovation ecosystems and we have found some great fits for folks supporting inclusive entrepreneurship in the Bay Area, Native American communities, and regional translational research.

And if one of these opportunities doesn’t apply to your work, please be sure to share it with a friend in need!

Without further ado, let’s dive in.

2023 CZI Inclusive Entrepreneurship RFA

Hosting Organization: Chan Zuckerberg Initiative

Link: https://chanzuckerberg.com/rfa/2023-inclusive-entrepreneurship/

Headline: Entrepreneurs that start businesses rooted in their communities are part of the social fabric that drives economic mobility across the United States. This fund was created to support local entrepreneurs with an emphasis on reaching small and micro-businesses with 20 or fewer employees. Consideration will also be given to primary service populations that are underrepresented in the entrepreneurial sector, including women, Black, Latinx, Indigenous, and other people of color; low-income households; immigrants, regardless of documentation status; and people who identify as LGBTQIA+.

Eligibility: Nonprofit organizations, intermediaries, and CDFIs that work with entrepreneurs and small business owners serving one or more counties in the greater San Francisco Bay Area (San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Alameda, Contra Costa, Solano, Sonoma, Napa, Marin) are eligible to apply.

Award Amount: Up to six grants of $500,000 each

Deadline: March 15, 2023* (for LOI* If selected, you will be invited to submit a proposal on March 31, which is due April 21)

Submission Requirements: Learn more through the Applications Portal

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Social and Economic Development Strategies (SEDS)

Agency Hosting: Department of Health & Human Services || Administration for Native Americans (ANA)

Link: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=329546

Headline: This program is focused on community-driven projects designed to grow local economies, strengthen Native American families, including the preservation of Native American cultures, and decrease the high rate of current challenges caused by the lack of community-based businesses, and social and economic infrastructure in Native American communities.

Eligibility: Native American tribal organizations and governments, related 501(c)(3) nonprofits, and others* (read full eligibility on the above link)

Award Amount: $100,000 - $400,000 per award (30 total awards expected)

Deadline: March 31, 2023

Submission Requirements: Learn more through the application portal

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Partnerships for Innovation (PFI)

Agency Hosting: National Science Foundation (NSF)

Link: https://beta.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/partnerships-innovation-pfi-0

Headline: The Partnerships for Innovation (PFI) Program within the Division of Translational Impacts (TI) offers researchers from all disciplines of science and engineering funded by NSF the opportunity to perform translational research and technology development, catalyze partnerships and accelerate the transition of discoveries from the laboratory to the marketplace for societal benefit. One of the five broad goals is developing multi-disciplinary innovation ecosystems which involve and are responsive to the specific needs of academia and industry.

Eligibility: Academic / Research U.S. institutions; includes universities and two- and four-year colleges (including community colleges accredited in, and having a campus located in the United States, acting on behalf of their faculty members; Public or Non-profit, Non-academic U.S. organizations located in the United States that are directly associated with technology transfer activities (“Technology Transfer Organizations”);Non-profit U.S. organizations located in the United States that partner with an institution of higher education; or A U.S. consortium of 2 or more of the organizations described above.

Award Amount: Between 25-55 awards that offer between $550,000 and $1,000,000 (two different levels)

Deadline: May 2nd, 2023 (you have a little bit more time here)

Submission Requirements: Here are the solicitation details

Accelerating Research Translation (ART)

Agency Hosting: National Science Foundation (NSF)

Link: https://beta.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/accelerating-research-translation-art

Headline: The primary goals of this program are to build capacity and infrastructure for translational research at U.S. Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs) and to enhance their role in regional innovation ecosystems. In addition, this program seeks to effectively train graduate students and postdoctoral researchers in translational research, benefiting them across a range of career options.

Eligibility: Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs) - Two- and four-year IHEs (including community colleges) accredited in, and having a campus located in the US, acting on behalf of their faculty members.

Award Amount: Up to 10 awards with up to $6,000,000 per award over 4 years

Deadline: May 9th, 2023 (you have a little bit more time here)

Submission Requirements: Here are the solicitation details

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More capacity building funding opportunities for ecosystem builders are sure to be on the horizon soon - including some big programs from the EDA and SBA. Make sure you sign up to our newsletter in order to receive information around