Big Idea Grant

To receive an award, the scope of the proposed business model must be able to report realistic and achievable deliverables before the reporting deadlines detailed on this page.

The maximum amount of funding available per project is $1500 to cover costs such as: 

• Material and prototyping costs. Funds may be used to pay for external support in these areas that cannot be performed at think[box].
• Subscriptions (Canva, ChatGPT, Adobe Creative Cloud, etc.)
• Professional goods and services
  • Domain purchase
  • Web design
  • Market research
  • Legal
  • Program development services
  • Etc.
• Micro-internships for student work (under $100/student) 
  • Micro-internships should be part-time, limited scope
  • Maximum $500 can be used toward micro-internships

Please note that funding will NOT be awarded to support any of the following:

• Food, drinks, or entertainment
• Funding for academic conferences
• Travel and Competitions - Please apply to the Sopko Travel Grant for business related travel.
• Expenses that do not appear on an approved budget
• Salary or stipend

The review committee for the Big Idea Grant considers all proposals and notifies applicants by email as to the status of their application(s). Proposals are considered based on the following criteria:

• Business ideas presented in application must have a clear connection to entrepreneurship, innovation, functionality, and/or creativity that supports your professional, technical, or social skill set development.
  • Does the business idea involve a creative aspect, a challenging or educational aspect, or a new idea or process? 
  • Applicant is able to demonstrate a clear and realistic business model.
• Applicants have clearly expressed their Value Proposition and have demonstrated a business plan with a testable go-to-market strategy.
• SMART Goals: Have you or your team selected goals for your business that are SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound) that are aligned with the grant period?
• Feasibility: Can you or your team realistically reach the goals you set out given your existing skill set(s)?
• Monetary Feasibility: Is the requested funding appropriate for your business goals?

Please direct all questions regarding the grant to Brittain Elswick (brittain.elswick@case.edu).

• Alison King, Mentoring Program Director, JumpStart
• Tyler Fond, Senior Manager, Small Business Development, Greater Cleveland Partnership
• Kim Fleddermann, Business Development Manager, Great Lakes Energy Institute
• Sophia Ciancone, Owner and Lead Strategist, Sorella Communications
• Leslie Lim, Heart, Vascular, and Thoracic Institute Program Manager II, Cleveland Clinic
• Sarah Dallas, Prototyping Manager, Sears think[box]

If you are selected to receive funding from the Big Idea Grant, you will be required to sign an agreement indicating acceptance of the terms outlined for the Big Idea Grant AND meet with the grant manager to be onboarded into the program. Once onboarded, you will receive payment for 100% of the total award.

If you are awarded funds, you are fully responsible for their use and management. You are expected to keep accurate financial records and a summary of transactions, and must scan receipts to include in your project’s final report. Please be aware that monetary awards of $600 or more are taxable and, if you receive an award higher than this amount, you will be issued a Form 1099 at the end of the calendar year. Please consult a tax professional if you have questions.

Continuous learning and building robust networks is the key to success for those who are pursuing entrepreneurship as an interest or as a career path. This is why our grant program requires recipients to participate in a minimum amount of programs within the grant cycle.

If you've received financial support from the grant, you are required to attend the programs listed below during the academic year AND must submit a final report by the date enumerated in the Microgrant Program Agreement.

See below for participation requirement details and deadlines.

Participation Requirement Details

• Students are required to participate in the LaunchNET Mentorship and Advising Sessions.
  • 2 one-on-one mentoring sessions with LaunchNET[link] before November 1, 2026 and April 1, 2027 respectively. This comes to 4 total advising sessions.
  • 2 Cohort Group Sessions (minimum) 
• Additionally, students awarded funding are required to create 1 post on LinkedIn regarding their microgrant. (Required to tag: CWRU LaunchNET and Veale Institute for Entrepreneurship).
  • Grant recipients awarded should complete this before Winter Break.
• Grantees must [link] submit a final report by May 1, 2027. The final report must include:
  • A description of the completed project
  • Photos, drawings, and/or renderings of the final project
  • Results from any competition(s) or presentations and/or any changes in funding or revenue
  • A completed [link] Expense Report, following the [link] Expense Report Instructions, of venture purchases to date
  • Scans of all receipts indicated on the spreadsheet

Grant awardees may opt to participate in additional programs or sessions to further develop or fund their ideas. These can include but are not limited to:

• Programs hosted by the Veale Institute throughout the year.
• External programs such as I-Corps, VentureWell E-Team (Pioneer and/or Propel), JumpStart Accelerator, and other similar programs hold great benefit for startup and small business founders, and come recommended by our team.