Funding and grant support for innovations

Explore these funding resources to help get your business off the ground.

University resources and support

Supporting documentation for grants

Enterprise & Innovation provides letters of support and commercialization plans for grant proposals.

Advice on SBIR and STTR grants

The Sierra Accelerator for Growth & Entrepreneurship (SAGE) is a University program developed to help Nevada technology entrepreneurs win competitive grant funding from the U.S. Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and the Small Business Technology Transfer Research (STTR) programs. These programs provide funding in excess of $100,000.

Visit SAGE to learn more

Federal funding webinar series by SAGE

Applying for SBIR-STTR Grants from the Department of Defense (DOD)
Applying for SBIR-STTR Grants from the Department of Energy (DOE)
Applying for SBIR-STTR Grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF)

Federal funding webinar series

WolfCorps: Preparing your team for the NSF Innovation Corps

Enterprise & Innovation assists researchers with building teams that qualify for the National Science Foundation Innovation Corps (I-Corps™) program. Established teams may be eligible to apply to the Bay Area NSF I-Corps Node and later to the NSF I-Corps Teams program.

The I-Corps offers an immersive training experience where participants engage with industry and communicate problems and solutions with customers, partners and competitors. The I-Corps curriculum is based on the Lean Launchpad methodology developed by Steve Blank and is designed to move beyond the university laboratory and guide the process of transferring research innovations into products and processes that benefit society.

Applicants are required to form teams of three members, consisting of the technical lead, the entrepreneurial lead and an industry mentor. Please reach out to us to check that your team meets the requirements prior to applying.

Sontag entrepreneurship competition

Sontag is an annual competition through the College of Business aimed at developing the next generation of entrepreneurs and creating new businesses in Nevada. Teams will gain the experience of creating a business plan and presenting their concept. The competition awards $50,000 to the winning team.

Learn more about Sontag

Additional resources from external entities

Battle Born Growth

This statewide venture capital program, overseen by the Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development, invests in early-stage companies with high growth products and services in their industry sectors. Equity investments range from $100,000 to $1 million.

Visit Battle Born Growth

VentureWell E-Team grant program

This program offers entrepreneurial teams of science- and engineering-based students in the United States the opportunity for funding, training and continued support for startups with social, health or environmental impact. Grants are awarded up to $25,000 and participate in the Early-Stage Innovator Training Program.

Visit the VentureWell E-Team program