Receiving a financial award from the THINK, DO, THRIVE Grant Program provides a valuable learning and life-skills opportunity to develop and experience a number of critical professional practices. These include venture planning and management, budget ownership and management, fiscal responsibility and professional reporting.
Previous awardees of the Student Entrepreneurship Fund and Student Project Fund, through Sears think[box], are encouraged to apply.
Made possible by the Veale Institute for Entrepreneurship, the THINK Grant is for full-time students exploring an idea for a business.
Eligibility for the THINK Grant
To be considered for the THINK Grant applicants must be full-time CWRU undergraduate students (at least 12 credit hours) or full-time CWRU graduate students (at least 9 credit hours or one credit hour of thesis).
Students applying to this grant are exploring an idea for a business or learning to build entrepreneurial skills.
Application Timeframe
UPDATE: Applications are no longer reviewed on a rolling basis.
Applications are due no later than September 19, 2025. All applications will be reviewed and recipients will be notified no later than September 29, 2025 and February 16, 2026, respectively.
The THINK Grant application will be open twice during the 2025-26 academic year.
Round 1 Applications Opens: August 1, 2025 at 9 a.m.
Round 1 Applications Close: September 19, 2024 at 5 p.m.
Round 2 Application Opens: January 2, 2026 at 9 a.m.
Round 2 Application Closes: February 6, 2026 at 5 p.m.
How Grants Are Awarded and Used
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 $500 for individuals and $1,000 for teams to cover costs such as:
- Prototyping Supplies (such as equipment, software-specific development, etc.)
Grants may be used to pay for external support in areas that cannot be performed at think[box].
Please note that funding will NOT be awarded to support any of the following:
- Food, drinks, or entertainment
- Stipends
- Funding for academic conferences
- Travel and Competitions - Please apply to the Sopko Travel Grant for business related travel.
- Requires pre-approval
- Travel specific to tradeshows and customer discovery
- Must be a competitor in competitions
- Expenses that do not appear on an approved budget
Review Criteria
The review committee for the THINK 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:
- Ideas presented in the 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 idea involve a creative aspect, a challenging or educational aspect, or a new idea or process?
- Applicants have clearly expressed their value proposition and have conducted preliminary research into their chosen market.
- SMART Goals: Have you or your team selected goals for your idea that are SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound)?
- 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 idea’s goals?
Review Committee
Please direct all questions regarding the grant to Brittain Elswick (bxe88@case.edu).
- Alison King, Mentoring Program Director, JumpStart
- Tyler Fond, Senior Manager, Small Business Growth, Greater Cleveland Partnership
- Kim Fleddermann, Business Development Manager, Great Lakes Energy Institute
- Sophia Gordon, Owner and Lead Strategist, Sorella Communications
Fund Disbursement
If you are selected to receive support from the THINK Grant, you will be required to sign an agreement indicating acceptance of the terms outlined for the THINK Grant AND meet with the grant manager before you receive the award.
At that point, you will receive payment of 100% of the total award value, with the understanding that you are required to complete the requirements of funding in addition to the final report. When the final report is due, you will be contacted to arrange the return of unspent or undocumented funds to LaunchNET.
Fund Administration
If you are awarded funds, you are 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.
Participation Requirements
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 THINK DO THRIVE Grant Program Agreement.
- [REQUIRED] Students are required to participate in the LaunchNET advising opportunities listed below.
- 2 one-on-one mentoring sessions with LaunchNET before November 1, 2025 and April 1, 2026, respectively.
- 2 co-hort working sessions - dates provided after grant has been awarded.
- Apply to the Morgenthaler-Pavey Startup Competition (not required to be a finalist)
- Students awarded funding are required to create 1 posts on LinkedIn regarding their microgrant experience. (Required to tag both: CWRU Veale Institute for Entrepreneurship and Burton D. Morgan Foundation).
- Grant recipients awarded in the Fall semester should complete this before Winter Break.
- Grant recipients awarded in the Spring semester should complete this before Summer Break.
- [OPTIONAL] Programs hosted by the Veale Institute throughout the school year.
Reporting Requirements
- You must submit a final report by May 1, 2026. The final report must include:
- A description of the completed milestones
- Photos, drawings, and/or renderings of the final project
- Results from any competition(s) or presentations
- A completed Expense Report, following the Expense Report Instructions, of venture purchases to date
- Scans of all receipts indicated on the spreadsheet