The Cleantech Open runs the world’s largest accelerator, providing entrepreneurs and technologists the resources needed to launch successful cleantech companies. Its mission is to find, fund, and foster entrepreneurs with big ideas that address today’s most urgent energy, environmental, and economic challenges.

The Cleantech Open Accelerator & Competition consists of a number of key activities; extensive mentoring, training, business clinics, access to investors and capital, numerous opportunities to showcase to the media and the public, and the competition itself. Since its inception in 2006, the Cleantech Open has awarded over $5M in cash and services to support cleantech growth companies. The 581 participating companies of the Cleantech Open’s accelerator programs have raised more than $660 million in external capital.

Visit the Cleantech website to learn more about this small business funding opportunity. Click HERE to visit site.

Grants are available through the Commercial Energy Efficiency Retrofit Program for for-profit businesses in Bowling Green.

Administered by the Barren River Area Development District, the grant guidelines were altered after no grant applications were received during the first round, according to Nick Cook, program coordinator.

Companies were previously required to provide 80 percent of the cost of energy efficiency/renewable energy upgrades to their existing facilities to qualify for the grant. That has been changed to a 60 percent match, Cook said.

For-profit businesses may request a minimum of $5,000 and a maximum of $25,000.

The project must demonstrate an energy reduction of at least 20 percent or more and can include such things as installation of efficient heating and cooling systems and installation of efficient lighting systems.

Applications will be accepted until March 1.

Cook said he has about $75,000 available for the program.

Applications and program guidelines are available at www.bradd.org.

— For more information, call or email Cook at 781-2381 or ncook@bradd.org. Applications should be submitted to: BRADD, REF: CEERP Application, 177 Graham Ave., Bowling Green, KY 42101.

The New Hampshire Innovation Research Center is soliciting letters of intent from companies in the state for conducting research at New Hampshire-based colleges and universities including Dartmouth and the University of New Hampshire. A nonbinding letter of intent on company letterhead is due Jan. 27.

The grants support projects under development in the private sector. It is a competitive process, with oversight by representatives from industry, government and academic institutions. Projects vary from proof-of-concept to a substantial product or process design. Companies are required to provide matching dollars or services and will be required to receive additional NHIRC-sponsored training in SBIR/STTR grant writing in an effort to improve leverage of NHIRC dollars.

The NHIRC was created by the Legislature in 1991 to increase competitiveness, profitability and quality jobs in Granite State companies. It is administered by the NHIRC office at UNH. Due to budget constraints, the current RFP is for both the Fiscal Year 2012 and FY13 budget years in the cumulative amount of $400,000. To learn more about the NHIRC and how to apply for funding visitwww.nhirc.unh.edu.

One of the most important factors in determining the long-term success of any new business is having adequate small business funding for the first few years. Proper funding will allow the business to flourish and develop enough of a revenue stream to sustain itself. Most small businesses fail in their first year because of inadequate funding, even though their business model is sound. They simply ran out of resources before the company reached an income level that could satisfy their expenses. Finding the financial resources required to start a business can be difficult but there are many organizations with funding available if you know where to look.

Federal Small Business Grants Are a Great Place to Start

Business grant resources can vary dramatically across the country and even though there are federal programs available, much of the funding may be sponsored by your state. When starting a search for these business grants there are a number of great resources available to help you that can save you time and help you zero in on funding. The largest of these is the Small Business Administration, which can provide funding directly for almost any business venture if you qualify. The great thing about the SBA is that they not only provide the funding you’ll need, they also have a large staff of seasoned professionals that offer free mentoring on almost any aspect of a small business. In many cases these resources have started successful companies of their own and can help you avoid many of the common mistakes that other failed companies have made. The SBA is a great place to start when searching for a business grant and they have a number of different programs that may be available to you. Since their offices are local in most states, they can also help you uncover any state funding that may be available.

Your home state is another great source of business grants and many of these may be available in addition to any funding you receive from other sources. Even though every state is different, most of them have a state economic development agency that can help you find the funding you need. These resources are all free and can help educate you on the funding available, even if you don’t currently qualify for a grant.

Surf the Web For Business Grants

The internet is another wonderful tool for locating business grant resources and there are several major sites that act as clearing houses for small business funding. One of the most popular is www.grants.gov , which lists all the federal programs currently available as well as many of the applications needed. In addition to being able to research and apply for these federal grants, you can also track your progress through the grant process on the site. They even offer a free newsletter to keep you up to date on changing programs for small business funding.

Another website that can help you find small business funding is the Economic Development Directory. This site allows you to search for any grant available by state and even narrow it down to specific areas of your state for grants that are location dependent. This can be a very powerful resource to help you discover programs in your area that you may have missed on your own. These listings provide all the details you need to apply for these business grants and may even offer help with the application process.

The Santa Clara University’s Center for Science, Technology and Society has opened the application process from 6 December onwards for the Global Social Benefit Incubator (GSBI™) program which gives an opportunity to socially-minded entrepreneurs to build sustainable, scalable organizations that solve problems for people living in poverty around the world.

The Program works with organizations that create value by lifting people out of poverty, utilizing self-sustaining community practices, and developing low-cost solutions. The GSBI is a combination of online, experiential, and skill-building offerings in a ten-month program. It also collaborates with with a diverse group of partners including successful Silicon Valley executives, academic leaders, and the network of Jesuit universities.

The GSBI™ consists of three major components:

• An on-line, mentored, application process hosted on www,socialedge.org and based on three business planning exercises designed to benefit all who participate by defining their organizations’ value proposition, target market (beneficiaries), and “business model” (key income and expense drivers).
• 20 organizations selected from the application process receive scholarships for an online (4 month) and in-residence (2 week) program that involves “action learning” and mentoring to prepare a sustainable “business” plan for their organizations. All expenses (except Internet fees and travel) for this component are covered by a full-scholarship valued at US $25,000,
• On-going mentoring and collaboration for all who complete the in-residence component.

The GSBI™ scholarship covers tuition, room and board for the two-week intensive immersion program and access to the Google Sites used to support the four-month online preparation. Selected candidates are responsible for their travel expenses and arrangements (airfare, ground transportation, passport, and visa).

There are various stages of the application process. The deadline for the first stage of the application process is 6 January 2012. For more information, visit either of these links: Social Edge website or at Santa Clara University website.

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Click HERE to read more details about the opportunity.