U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross today announced that 52 organizations — including nonprofits, institutions of higher education, and entrepreneurship-focused organizations — from 36 states will receive grants totaling $35 million to support entrepreneurship, acceleration of company growth, and increased access to risk capital across regional economies.

The grants are made annually under the Economic Development Administration’s (EDA) (formally known as the Regional Innovation Strategies program).

The 2020 awardees will leverage an additional $44 million in matching funds from a variety of private and public sector sources.

2020 Venture Challenge Grant Recipients

• Baton Rouge Health District, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, $599,385
• Baylor University, Waco, Texas, $1.5 million
• BioSTL, St. Louis, Missouri, $1.5 million
• Boise State University, Boise, Idaho, $1.5 million
• Central Maine Growth Council, Waterville, Maine, $599,969
• Cleveland State University, Cleveland, Ohio, $599,998
• Delaware Innovation Space, Inc., Wilmington, Delaware, $1.5 million
• First Flight Venture Center, Inc., Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, $1.3 million
• Governors State University, University Park, Illinois, $578,884
• Halcyon House, Washington, D.C., $1.5 million
• Invest Nebraska Corporation, Lincoln, Nebraska, $600,000
• Iowa Innovation Corporation, Des Moines, Iowa, $525,472
• Los Alamos Commerce and Development Corporation, Los Alamos, New Mexico, $600,000
• Maine Center for Enterprise Development, Portland, Maine, $512,556
• Massachusetts Technology Development Corp, Boston, Massachusetts, $1 million
• mHUB, Chicago, Illinois, $1.3 million
• New Orleans BioInnovation Center, Inc., New Orleans, Louisiana, $1.5 million
• Patrick Henry Community College, Martinsville, Virginia, $300,474
• RI Bio, Providence, Rhode Island, $297,500
• Starburst Accelerator, LLC, Los Angeles, California, $1.4 million
• Strategic Economic Development Corporation, Salem, Oregon, $469,150
• The Roanoke-Blacksburg Innovation Network DBA Valleys Innovation Council, Blacksburg, Virginia, $982,443

To learn more and see more recipients, check out the whole article below.

https://eda.gov/news/press-releases/2020/09/16/buildtoscale-grantees.htm