EDA Entrepreneurial Funding Application

The Economic Development Administration’s University Center Economic Development Program makes the resources of universities available to the economic development community. The program is specifically designed to marshal the resources located within colleges and universities to support regional economic development strategies.

The EDA University Center program at the University of Rochester Ain Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation aims to support aspiring and early-stage entrepreneurs in the Rochester and Finger Lakes Region, and to provide access to entrepreneurial training for student (graduate and undergraduate), faculty, staff, alumni, and community teams to complete together to achieve their business potential. 

Teams should have clearly defined goals and expectations for how the program can help develop their idea. The Ain Center will provide infrastructure, advice, resources, networking opportunities, training, and modest funding (awards of $1,000 - $2,000 per team) to enable teams to propel their ideas forward. With the support and mentorship of the Ain Center, the teams will learn first-hand about entrepreneurship and explore the transition of their ideas into startups.

Upon completion of a training program, student participants are eligible to apply for an EDA University Center funding award. If you have completed the NSF I-Corps Site Program, your funding request to the EDA University Center must be for different expenses.

All current University of Rochester undergraduate, graduate students, and doctoral students are eligible to apply for EDA University Center funding.

Proposed business ventures should be in either the idea, development, or startup stages. The venture must operate in and/or provide a benefit, whether economic, social, cultural or intellectual, to an urban or rural community in the greater Rochester region.

Applications will be judged on the criteria of:
• Team and Commitment
• Market potential
• Strength and feasibility of benefit provided to Rochester and/or surrounding region
• Fit with regional economic development goals

*Teams may apply only ONCE per application cycle. Individual students may only be on ONE team per application cycle.

Teams will receive half of the grant funding upon application approval. Teams will receive the second half of the grant after submitting a one-page progress report. Details will be provided upon acceptance. Failure to complete the progress report may result in forfeiture and/or repayment of grant awards.

Funding is primarily in the form of reimbursement but some other funding methods are available. Please refer to the Expense Types tab on our EDA Entrepreneurial Training and Funding web page for the complete financial guidelines.

Teams are required to complete one or more progress reports depending on the nature of the requested expenses. Details will be provided upon acceptance. Failure to complete the progress report may result in forfeiture and/or repayment of grant awards.