Appendix - grant and mentorship opportunities

Appendix:

Idea Stage:

• Grants
  • Exploration Fund - If you have just an idea that might solve a real-world problem, the Student Exploration Fund is for you. Grants are typically $500. https://city.yale.edu/funding/student-exploration-fund 
  • Milestone Fund - The intent of the Student Milestone Fund is to move an idea, initiative, or venture a significant step forward. Grants can be up to $2,000 with the Student Milestone Fund. https://city.yale.edu/funding/student-milestone-fund 
• Mentorship
  • Launchpad - Launchpad is designed to take early-stage founders to the next level with their ventures through asynchronous and synchronous teachings that can be immediately applied to your venture. It creates a safe space for like-minded innovators to reflect on what they have learned so far and to make additional progress on their ideas. https://city.yale.edu/programs/vdp_launch_pad 
  • Attending workshops and sessions offered by the numerous centers across Yale can be a great way to refine an idea and finalize the problem you want to solve. Be sure to check out the centers associated with the entrepreneurship collaborative at Yale including Tsai City, CBEY, CBIT, CEID, and more. https://entrepreneurship.yale.edu/ Moreover, Tsai City offers cohort-based programs called intensives that provide access to a wider array of resources in a field of your interest. https://city.yale.edu/programs

Advanced Stage: 

• Grants
  • Climate innovation grant - These seed grants represent a key focus area of climate innovation. Entrepreneurs and innovators have an increasingly critical role in helping to slow down, and maybe even reverse, the effects of climate change. This seed funding program aims to help unlock this potential and fulfill Yale’s commitment to building a more sustainable world. Grants of $500 - $3,000 https://cbey.yale.edu/programs/climate-innovation-grants 
• Mentorship
  • Accelerator - A cohort of Yale student founders meets weekly with mentors to grow their ventures. Applicable ideas include (but are not limited to!) for-profit businesses, social enterprises, non-profits, civic or arts start-ups, faith-based organizations, apps, tech platforms, community programs, and civic/social movements. https://city.yale.edu/programs/vdp_accelerator 

Initial functioning business:

• Grants
  • Sobotka Prize - Up to $20,000 dollars awarded. This prize provides seed funding for start-up ventures in the field of business and the environment. The goal of the funding is to support students in creating competitive commercial enterprises that market viable products, services, and projects while tackling some key environmental problems.https://cbey.yale.edu/programs/sobotka-prize 
• Mentorship
  • Summer fellowship - The Tsai CITY Summer Fellowship is a multi-week, full-time accelerator to incubate new companies, nonprofits, and initiatives. Building on ideas within a supportive environment, teams can go from sketch to launch by summer’s end. The fellowship includes $15,000 for each team, along with a rigorous sequence of workshops, sprints, mentorship, coaching, and pitch opportunities. https://city.yale.edu/programs/vdp/summer_fellowship 

Later stage:

• Grants
  • Start-Up Yale - Five large grants of up to $25,000, across categories like healthcare, financial inclusion, education, sustainability as well as some general prizes. The prizes share a single application, and prize finalists compete in pitch-offs each spring. https://city.yale.edu/funding/startup-yale-prizes 
• Mentorship
  • Ramp-Up - An interactive bi-weekly lunch meeting between student founders and Tsai CITY, which also typically includes a seasoned entrepreneur for late-stage startups. This year the ramp-up cohort spent extended periods of time with Joe Tsai himself. This program provides a chance to build community with other late-stage founders at Yale. https://city.yale.edu/programs/rampup