Indiana Organizations Awarded Grants for Supporting Startups

August 25, 2020

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Nineteen organizations across Indiana have been awarded a total of $164,000 in grants from Elevate Nexus. These funds are earmarked toward entrepreneurship programming to help build on existing successes.

Elevate Nexus, an initiative of Elevate Ventures launched in July 2019, partners with higher-education institutions and nonprofit organizations to organize pitch competitions in which entrepreneurs compete for startup funding. The grants represent 10% of the total $1,640,000 in startup investment achieved through the organizations’ efforts.

One of the 19 recipients was Purdue University Northwest which will use the grant to support its Commercialization and Manufacturing Excellence Center.

“We have a lot of innovative people here in Northwest Indiana who may not be as well-funded as those in other parts of the state, which is not due to a lack of innovation, but a lack of resources,” said Mont Handley, entrepreneur-in-residence and associate director of the Commercialization and Manufacturing Excellence Center at Purdue University Northwest. “This grant will allow us to better provide new and aspiring entrepreneurs with a wealth of support and guidance as we bring new innovation to the region.”

The recipients include:

• 1804, Inc., New Albany
• AgriNovus Indiana, Indianapolis
• Dimension Mill, Inc., Bloomington
• Flagship Enterprise Center Inc. (d/b/a Bankable), Anderson
• Grace Schools, Winona Lake
• Indiana University, Bloomington
• Ivy Tech Community College of Bloomington, Bloomington
• South Bend–Elkhart Regional Partnership, South Bend
• Orr Fellowship, Indianapolis
• Purdue University, West Lafayette
• Purdue University Northwest, Hammond
• Purdue@Westgate, Odon
• Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Terre Haute
• SERVICE CORPS of Retired Executives (SCORE), Warsaw
• Taylor University, Upland
• Trine University, Inc., Angola
• Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, Indianapolis
• University of Notre Dame, South Bend
• University of Southern Indiana, Evansville

Elevate Nexus hosts seven pitch competitions annually, including six regional and one statewide, with a total of $1,640,000 in investments awarded to startups. The grant recipients are identified by the startup during the application process.

Elevate Nexus is funded by a grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration and the 21st Century Research and Technology Fund (21 Fund). The 21 Fund, which promotes economic growth and innovation-driven public-private partnerships in Indiana, is overseen by the Indiana Economic Development Corp. and managed by Elevate Ventures.