Grant Information

“IMAGINE Your Business” Grant

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The goal of the Berks LaunchBox “IMAGINE Your Business” grant is to provide entrepreneurs with early-stage business ideas and gross revenue less than $200,000, up to $2,000 towards a need you have identified. These funds will give you the opportunity to move forward with your business ideas by building a prototype, creating a minimum viable product, completing customer discovery, marketing, setting up a website, and more. The funds are being provided by a grant from the County of Berks Imagine Berks Fund made to the Berks LaunchBox.

There will be two submission time frames for this grant, due May 30, 2024 and August 30, 2024.

Entrepreneurs are eligible to apply for funding if they are:

  • Berks County, PA residents or their business in located in Berks County, PA
  • 18 years or older
  • Able to clearly articulate the problem to be solved and their target market.
  • Manage a business with gross revenue of less than $200,000 or intend to form or operate a business in Berks County, PA
  • Have not received the “IMAGINE Your Business” grant from the Berks LaunchBox previously or the Creative Entrepreneur Accelerator Program Grant from the PA Council on the Arts.
Eligible Uses of Funds:
  • Professional fees for workshops, consultants, and career coaching.
  • Participation in events, trade shows, festivals, etc. that offer access to audience and revenue generation potential.
  • Business development fees for courses or seminars for business skills.
  • Research and development.
  • Marketing and promotion.
  • Development or upgrades to technology related to business practices.
  • Studio/rehearsal/retail space rent.
  • Purchase of supplies and/or equipment.
Ineligible Uses of Funds:
  • Activities outside the funding period.
  • Activities that have a religious purpose.
  • Payments to lobbyists.
  • Activities for which academic credit is given.
  • Hospitality, food or beverages.

Grant Utilization

It is your responsibility to utilize the funds as detailed in your application.

Grant Impact

A one-page report on the use/impact of funds will need to be submitted within six months of distribution. This will help in gauging effectiveness of the program and also provide details on how the funds are used to the County of Berks, whose grant to the Berks LaunchBox has made this program possible!

STEPS TO MOVE FORWARD:

  1. Review application questions.
  2. Download a blank Business Model Canvas form
  3. Watch a class outlining creation of your Business Model Canvas
  4. Use the editable PDF to build a draft of your own Business Model Canvas.
  5. Once you have completed a draft of your Business Model Canvas, email it to Jim Hong at BK-InnovationHub@psu.edu and schedule a meeting to review your submission. Please allow for at least three business days from when you email your Business Model Canvas to your scheduled meeting date.
  6. Following your meeting to review your Business Model Canvas and after any requested improvements have been made to it, you will receive a link to apply to the “IMAGINE Your Business” grant!

If you need help completing the Business Model Canvas, please fill out our intake form to request Startup Support!