The Jeff Lawrence Innovation Fund supports a set of activities designed to spur technology development and commercialization across New York State. The Fund launched in December 2016 and is named for Jeff Lawrence, a champion of the New York manufacturing and entrepreneurial communities. The Innovation Fund comprises three program tracks: Manufacturing Grants, an annual Commercialization Competition and Innovation Challenges.
We are excited to announce that the next round of grants opens March 1, 2021 and will close on March 31, 2021 at 4:00PM EST. The Manufacturing Grants are designed to encourage collaboration between not-for-profit organizations and small to medium-sized manufacturers in New York State. The partnership created by the not-for-profit organization and the industry partner serves as a pathway to technology transfer, adoption and implementation of new manufacturing processes, as well as the creation of enhanced products and services. (www.fuzehub.com/manufacturing-grants)
As you prepare to submit an application, here are a few things to keep in mind.
➢ New for 2021 ~
The Innovation Fund has a new preliminary eligibility check for our grant programs. In order to submit a full application, each applicant team will be required to submit basic information about the small to medium-sized manufacturer (partner) for their proposed project. We highly encourage applicant teams to start this process early in the application submission period. FuzeHub staff can work with applicants to initiate the process of obtaining Dun & Bradstreet registration and identify potential issues related to eligibility.
➢ Please make sure that you elaborate on the costs that are presented in your proposed budget. There is a tab in the budget template worksheet with instructions for completing the template. Non-executive salaries, wages and fringe benefits are eligible expenses, for a portion of the project, to the extent that personnel time is directly involved in the project. These salary and personnel compensation costs must be reasonable, and reflect the time actually devoted to the project. The proposed budget must include the name(s) and title(s) of the individual(s) expected to be paid through the grant or, at a minimum, positions must be listed when specific individual names are unknown at the time of application submission.
➢ Although not required, applicant teams are able to submit relevant supporting documentation to support project budget costs, including, but not limited to: third-party cost estimates; quotes; and letters of support from companies that will benefit from equipment identified in the proposal. (PDF file format). These should be submitted as individual PDF files for ease of access by the review panel. For applicant teams that have submitted in past rounds, there is a separate upload task in SurveyMonkey Apply this year to facilitate submitting this documentation.
➢ The Jeff Lawrence Innovation Fund uses an online platform for application submission and grant management. A step-by-step resource guide will be available in the platform to help applicant teams as they create and submit an application. An updated blogpost that highlights the SurveyMonkey Apply platform will be available on the FuzeHub website. For assistance with the online platform, please contact the Fund Program Specialist at p[email protected].
➢ FuzeHub does not have any prior knowledge of the not-for-profits that are considering the Jeff Lawrence Innovation Fund at any given time and these not-for-profits may already be in discussion with companies who are interested in pursuing a FuzeHub grant. Manufacturers are encouraged to allow sufficient time to confirm that the not-for-profit that you are considering has space to accommodate an application request.
➢ The next application period is pending. If an application is unsuccessful in the March funding cycle, applicant teams are eligible to submit in a future application period.
➢ If you are uncertain of your eligibility or have additional questions beyond the FAQ, please reach out to the Fund Director at j[email protected].
The Manufacturing Grants will close promptly at 4:00PM on Wednesday, March 31, 2021.
