Indiana Business and Commerce Grants

The Community Foundation of Huntington County is seeking applications for its Accessibility Grants. Donor Name: Community Foundation of Huntington County State: Indiana County: Huntington County (IN) Type of Grant: Grant Deadline: (mm/dd/yyyy) 07/18/2024 Size of the Grant: Not Available Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned Details: Currently there are two potential tracks for possible funding: Pathfinder Services has the Community Accessibility Fund which was created to help communities become more inclusive of all people by funding solutions to accessibility barriers. Funding is available to individuals, families, and businesses to take ownership of the physical barriers in buildings and infrastructure that prevent people with disabilities from fully accessing the use and benefits afforded to all. Accessibility needs must be considered from an individual and community perspective to make the changes necessary to be a welcoming community for all. AWS Foundation has the AWS Foundation Community Accessible Communities Fund was created to help accomplish a goal all individuals with disabilities deserve a choice driven life. Preferences, opinions, priorities and accommodations are best defined by the individual rather than for the individual. This will help provide a more inclusive environment. Opportunities with the following criteria will be considered: presented with a focus on encouraging potential rather than identification of limitations.  social settings that include family and friends are preferred. Age related peer groups and potential for new friends is ideal.  ADA standards are the law and the minimum. Exceeding through the principals of Universal Design is desirable.  enhance and support education and employment potential will contribute to greater independence for the individual.  No one has all the answers. Collaboration increases the potential for greater opportunities. For more information, visit  Community Foundation of Huntington County.

The Greater Franklin Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce the small business capacity-building grant program. Donor Name: Franklin Chamber of Commerce State: County: All Counties Type of Grant: Grant Deadline: (mm/dd/yyyy) 08/02/2024 Size of the Grant: $10,000 to $100,000 Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned Details: Small businesses are essential to the economic and social growth of a community. In Franklin, small business owners are friends and neighbors who are the foundation of the city. They are delighted to assist in strengthening these businesses that are so important to the fabric of the community. Funding Information  This project of the Franklin Chamber Foundation will award 12 $2,500 grants to local small businesses. Eligibility Criteria  Small businesses of 10 or fewer full-time employees are encouraged to submit applications for the grants which may be used for initiatives such as expanding a physical space, online presence or marketing initiatives. Examples of capacity building are: user-friendly online shopping platforms, enhanced point-of-sale systems, updated websites, increased physical spaces and innovative marketing strategies. For more information, visit Franklin Chamber of Commerce.

The City of Goshen’s Community Relations Commission (CRC) invites neighborhood groups to apply for the Neighborhood Block Party Grant. Donor Name: City of Goshen State: County: All Counties Type of Grant: Grant Deadline: (mm/dd/yyyy) 08/04/2024 Size of the Grant: Less than $1000 Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned Details: This grant aims to promote neighborhood community-building activities, help build positive relations among the community, and enhance problem-solving skills among residents throughout the community. Possible uses for Neighborhood Block Party Grants include, but are not limited to:  Supplies for a neighborhood block party  Print and promotional materials for neighborhood block party  Activities for a neighborhood block party Funding Information The maximum annual grant total per neighborhood is $200. Eligible Projects In developing your project, please remember that the purpose of the Neighborhood Block Party Grant is to promote neighborhood community-building activities that demonstrate neighborhood benefit. One of the goals of the CRC is to develop and maintain programs that build positive relations among the community.  Funds should be used to support one-time events such as block parties, special celebrations, etc. Provide the proposed event’s date, location, and proof of the property owner’s permission to use their property for this purpose. Eligibility Criteria Applications are accepted from neighborhood-based organizations located within Goshen city limits. A neighborhood-based organization is a group with a majority of its members residing or doing business in a commonly recognized neighborhood whose purpose is, at least in part, to improve the quality of life in that area. Groups may be formed for the sole purpose of completing a grant-funded project and need not be formally recognized as neighborhood associations. For more information, visit City of Goshen.

Applications are now open for the gBETA AgBioScience Accelerator for early-stage companies focusing on AgBioScience. Donor Name: Gener8tor State: Indiana County: All Counties Type of Grant: Program Deadline: 08/19/2024 Size of the Grant: Not Available Grant Duration: Less than 1 Year Details: gBETA is a free, seven-week, pre-accelerator program for companies that are looking to achieve rapid growth and/or raise venture capital. gBETA runs multiple times every year in cities across the United States. Up to five companies from a range of verticals are selected from a competitive applicant pool to participate in the free seven-week program. Participating companies receive: Individualized coaching and mentorship from the team of nationally ranked accelerator gener8tor on company growth and investor readiness Weekly “Lunch & Learns” and “Mentor Swarms” Investor and accelerator pitches $1M+ in deals and perks from vendors like IBM Cloud, Rackspace, Amazon, Paypal, Zendesk, Hubspot and Microsoft Ongoing post-program support and gener8tor community involvement and offerings Eligibility Criteria National Based Program gBETA Agbioscience is a national-based accelerator for early-stage companies with a focus on agriculture innovations. It is hosted in Indianapolis with in-person and virtual components. You’re Committed While they don’t expect you to be full-time on your business yet, programming is about a five-hour commitment each week, and they expect that you will be spending additional time working on your business each week outside of the program. You’re Ready to Grow gBETA companies range from “I have an idea” to “I have significant revenue.” Although most gBETA companies are post-product, pre-scale, as long as you are ready to make use of coaching on customer growth and investor readiness, mentor meetings, and investor and accelerator pitches, they’re ready for you! For more information, visit Gener8tor.

The Knox County Community Foundation seeks funding requests for its Target Lasting Change (TLC) Grant Initiative. Funding will be focused on quality of life and quality of place programs/projects in Knox County that have the potential to stimulate economic growth within the county. A $100,000 grant will be awarded to one charitable organization whose funding request most aligns with initiative goals and aims to make a significant and sustained, positive impact in the community.

The Arts Council of Southwestern Indiana recognizes individuals, groups, businesses, projects, and institutions that have made significant contributions to the arts in Southwestern Indiana. Donor Name: Arts Council of Southwestern Indiana (ARTSWIN) State: Indiana County: Vanderburgh County (IN) Type of Grant: Grant Deadline:  05/10/2024 Size of the Grant: Not Available Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned Details: Categories Mayor’s Art Award – This highly prestigious honor is given to an individual whose contributions to the arts have had an exceptional impact on the community. Consideration is given to evidence of long-standing support of, and life-long interest in, the arts. The nominee must be a current resident of Vanderburgh County whose arts activities have had significant impact on the City of Evansville. Visual Arts Award – This award recognizes an exceptional candidate from the visual arts discipline. (Film and literary arts are included in this category.) Performing Arts Award – This award recognizes an exceptional candidate from the performing arts discipline. Young Artist Award – This award recognizes a rising high school junior or senior in the 2024-2025 school year who displays exceptional aptitude in an artistic discipline. Arts Educator Award – This award recognizes an educator who directly influences and engages students of any age through the visual, literary, or performing arts. Arts Project Award –  This award recognizes a project that utilized the arts to advance community, economic development, or quality of life goals or initiatives in the 2023 calendar year. Eligibility Criteria Any individual, group, business, project, or institution may be nominated for these awards. The Mayor’s Arts Award is presented by the Mayor of Evansville and is restricted to a resident(s) of Vanderburgh County. A past recipient is not eligible to win in the same category again.  For more information, visit ARTSWIN.

The program provides a 50% matching grant to eligible businesses that are located within an Economic Development Target Area (EDTA). The purpose is to improve the appearance of their building and the surrounding site. By visually enhancing the exterior of buildings, businesses increase their property values, maintain their marketability, and demonstrate confidence. The CFG program works to assist those owners to promote reinvestment, strengthen Fort Wayne’s commercial activity and enhance economic vitality in the City’s heart. Program Objectives Maintain vibrancy of core commercial areas by encouraging investments that enhance the visual aesthetics of commercial properties and lead to increased property values. Stimulate economic development by providing incentives to increase existing business investment, ensure business sustainability and create aesthetically pleasing areas that attract new business and consumers. Complement other revitalization efforts to ensure the maximum leverage of resources. Support local businesses and encourage local entrepreneurship, to further enhance the spirit of Fort Wayne

This program provides financial support to commercial property owners in McCordsville for improving the appearance and functionality of their buildings, fostering a vibrant business environment.

This grant provides financial support to Indiana-based charitable organizations focused on transforming the industrial workforce through education and training in various technical and leadership fields.

The Ripley County Community Foundation has a variety of available grants to benefit nonprofit organizations and their projects that serve Ripley County. The grants program strives to anticipate the changing needs of the community and be flexible in responding to them. It focuses on providing "seed" money or pilot project support, but general operating support grants could also be considered. The program aims to have the greatest benefit per dollar granted and encourages the participation of other contributions through matching, challenge, and other grant techniques. The financial condition of the applying organization will be considered, as well as its strength, community support, leadership, clarity of proposal, and eligibility. To be eligible for these grants, organizations must be a nonprofit operating in Ripley County. Grant applications must qualify as an exempt organization under Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c), or be sponsored by such organizations, or qualify as governmental or educational entities with similar attributes per IRS Code Section 509(a). The purpose of the organization's grant application must fall within one or more of the Community Foundation's four service areas: Arts & Culture, Business & Entrepreneurship, Education, Health & Well-Being, and Environment & Natural Resources. Grants will only be made to organizations that have responsible fiscal sponsors and adequate accounting procedures. Grant recipients and fiscal sponsors must sign and abide by the respective conditions set forth in the Community Foundation's "Grant Award Agreements" and "Grant Report Forms". Organizations or their fiscal sponsors cannot have an outstanding or delinquent Grant Report in order for an application to be considered for future granting. The Large Projects Grants specifically provide assistance for sizable projects needed to support and/or enhance an organization's charitable reach. Nonprofit organizations that serve Ripley County can apply for a maximum request of $5,000.00. The application deadline is August 4th. It is important to note that previous awarded grants must be spent and accounted for before applying for another grant from the Ripley County Community Foundation. No grants will be made to defray travel or lodging expenses, for endowment purposes, for completed programs or already purchased equipment, for the acquisition of weapons or firearms, or exclusively for sectarian religious purposes. The foundation reserves the right to refuse any and all grant applications.

The Ripley County Community Foundation offers a variety of grants to benefit nonprofit organizations and their projects that serve Ripley County. The grants program focuses on anticipating the changing needs of the community and providing flexible support. Grants can be used for "seed" money or pilot projects, as well as general operating support. The foundation encourages matching, challenge, and other grant techniques to leverage additional contributions. Eligible organizations must be nonprofits operating in Ripley County and meet the foundation's grant guidelines and policies. Grant applications must fall within one or more of the four service areas: Arts & Culture, Business & Entrepreneurship, Education, Health & Well-Being, and Environment & Natural Resources. Grants will only be made to organizations with responsible fiscal sponsors and adequate accounting procedures. Organizations with outstanding or delinquent grant reports are not eligible for future grants. No grants will be made solely to individuals or for travel expenses. Grants cannot be used for endowment purposes or the acquisition of weapons or property. Religious organizations can receive grants for general community programs or historical site preservation but not for sectarian religious purposes. Previous grant recipients must comply with reporting requirements before applying again. The foundation reserves the right to refuse any grant application. For Donor Advised Funds, advisors are required to submit a recommendation form for each organization they wish to distribute funds to. Recommendations cannot be made until the form is submitted and approved by the foundation's Board of Directors. To apply for a grant from the Ripley County Community Foundation, visit their website at: [link provided]

The Energy Assistance Program (EAP) application for program year 2023-2024 will open on October 02, 2023 at 8am EST. Indiana residents can apply for utility bill assistance through the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), a federally-funded program through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The application period closes on May 20, 2024 at 5:00 PM Eastern Time. Applicants can apply online via the online portal, by mail, in-person, or by calling 2-1-1. To apply in-person or request a paper application form, applicants must contact their Local Service Provider. The EAP provides a one-time benefit to assist with the high cost of electricity and heating for homes. However, it is important to note that this benefit is not intended to cover all heating and electricity costs, so applicants should continue to pay their bills regularly. Eligibility and benefits are determined by Local Service Providers based on income qualifications. It may take up to 55 days for eligibility determination and an additional 30 days for the utility company to process the benefit. For more information on eligibility and to find contact information for the Local Service Provider that serves your area, visit http://eap.ihcda.in.gov. If you have any questions or need to follow up on an application, please be sure you contact your Local Service Provider directly rather than contacting IHCDA. For general inquiries about the Energy Assistance Program, please contact the Community Programs team at [email protected].