Get Funding and Support To Engage Students in Inclusive STEM Innovation and Entrepreneurship
VentureWell Course & Program (C&P) Grants of up to $30,000 are awarded to U.S. higher education institutions to expand and strengthen STEM innovation and entrepreneurship (I&E) ecosystems, with the end goal of accelerating sustainable and inclusive innovation. Ideally, C&P Grant funding should act as a catalyst for increased entrepreneurial activity and help faculty and universities leverage other opportunities to launch and/or grow their I&E ecosystems.
Read about our 2022 Course & Program Grants cohort!
C&P Grants may be used to strengthen existing curricular programs or to build new, pedagogically inclusive courses and programs that engage students in collaboratively developing and pursuing scalable solutions to real-world needs through STEM I&E.
Activities supported by C&P Grants should lead to effective courses and programs that are sustained by the institution, enhancing collaboration between students and the larger community by leveraging experiential learning practices, and expand opportunities for learning across STEM I&E.
C&P Grant proposals may include plans to create or improve an individual course, course sequence, minor, major, certificate program, or other co- or extracurricular program that is directly tied to and supports I&E-focused curricula. Programs are defined as a set of organized, planned activities or structures that occur on an ongoing basis and are intended to work in collaboration with departments and degree pathways (e.g., engaging with a tech transfer office, office of sustainability, office of entrepreneurship, certificate program, community-based learning program, etc.).
Proposals are required to address the following core components:
- Inclusive innovation
- Sustainability
- I&E ecosystem building
- Stakeholder collaboration
- Project team & resources
- Long-term financial plan & deliverables
Download the grant guidelines for full details!
Proposals may also include the following:
- General invention-oriented (science- and technology-based) entrepreneurship
- Emergent industries in your region that solve social and environmental problems (i.e., biomedical and healthcare innovation, clean energies, agriculture, educational technologies, etc.)
- Interdisciplinary innovation & entrepreneurship with a STEM component
Grants for HBCUs, Community Colleges, Tribal Colleges, HSIs, and MSIs
VentureWell is committed to inclusive innovation in STEM, and diversity, equity, and inclusion are a priority in our C&P Grants program. We are aware of diversity and equity gaps in our past grant cycles, and are striving to award the majority of grants to the following institution categories or groups:
- Community colleges
- Tribal Colleges, Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCUs), Predominantly Black Colleges & Universities, and Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs)
- Teams that include one or more co–principal investigators who voluntarily self-identify in their proposal narrative as members of one or more underrepresented groups (URGs) in innovation and entrepreneurship, including Black, Latinx, Indigenous people, women of any racial background, and people from low-income backgrounds
- Qualified universities or colleges that have never previously received a VentureWell C&P Grant
Please note that there is only one funding cycle for this fiscal year.
Questions?
Contact Program Officer Jaime Wood-Riley.
Impact Numbers
- Since 1996, we have awarded $19.7M in funding through our faculty initiatives, $14.6M of which was through C&P Grants.
- In the past 3 years, faculty have reported using C&P Grants funding to create or improve over 770 courses and/or programs, which served 27,000+ students.
- 265 institutions have received C&P Grants funds.
