Awards Nearly $1.5M in ECOSYSTEM Grants to Seventeen Partners Throughout the State
Summary
Adding these 17 organizations efforts to our ECOSYSTEM partner network will improve our ability to support new firm formation and the jobs they create; which will be vital to our economic recovery, Ruhe concluded.The seventeen new NC IDEA ECOSYSTEM grant recipients are:These newest grant recipients were chosen from the 65 competitive applications received from organizations from the mountains to the coast. Proposals had to focus on at least one of these three populations of under-represented entrepreneurs, but could aim to support more than one of the described populations.Concurrent to this ECOSYSTEM effort, and under the leadership of the newly formed North Carolina Black Entrepreneurship Council, NC IDEA issued a call for applications specifically from organizations throughout the state executing on innovative and transformational ideas that will elevate Black Entrepreneurship. Working in partnership with others provides the opportunity to foster relationships and create dialog between partners, while allowing a better understanding of how we may (collectively) support more people in their ambition to start and grow companies that will strengthen the economy of North Carolina.Earlier this year, NC IDEA awarded ECOSYSTEM grants to several additional partners including: First Flight Venture Center (RTP); Prospera (Charlotte); Thomas Entrepreneurship Hub at UNC Pembroke (Pembroke); and UNCW Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (Wilmington).About NC IDEA FOUNDATION NC IDEA is an independent private foundation committed to empowering North Carolinians to achieve their entrepreneurial potential. Through our powerful combination of competitive grants and programs, and a network of strategic partners, we help entrepreneurs when they need it most. NC IDEAs resources are highly competitive, enabling the foundation to support North Carolinas most ambitious entrepreneurs.