Funding

Trinity College students can apply for Microgrant funding totaling $1,500 to help establish the foundational elements of their startup venture.  Microgrant funds are commonly used for establishment of legal entities, trademarks, provisional patent filing fees, and the like.

• All full-time Trinity College students (undergraduate, graduate) are eligible to apply.
• Students from all academic disciplines are encouraged to apply. Preference will NOT be given to students studying business-oriented majors.
• Students may apply as individuals or in groups.
• Students are eligible for up to three $500 Microgrants ($1,500) during their Trinity College tenure.
• Proposals may include faculty or staff in a mentoring or advisory role only, not as a group member. A faculty/staff sponsor is not required.
• Awards are made to students. If an award is made to a group, all members of the group share it equally.

Students must apply for grants and not all applications are approved for funding.  Students apply sequentially for funding — students applying for Seed grants, for instance, should have exhausted their Microgrant and Pre-Seed Grant options beforehand.

• Presentation Deck
• Business Model Canvas
• Product/Service Plan
• Respond to all questions via email from Grant Review Committee

Students are encouraged to be creative with their requests, with the one restriction that all proposed expenses must directly relate to innovation or entrepreneurship and must be packaged as some sort of specific initiative that meets a need appropriate for this stage of their company. Requests should be the $200 to $500 range and meet the other criteria below.

• Market research
• Marketing, including business cards and logo wear
• Website development and domain registration
• Product design
• Programming or coding
• Patent searches or trademark expenses
• Startup legal costs including company formation filings costs
• Freelance/Consulting support

Unacceptable expenses include instances where the full expense is substantially greater than the amount of the microgrant, and the microgrant award would not enable the student to achieve the full coverage of the expense.  Also, grants may not be used directly for expenses related to salaries, meals, entertainment, or travel.

It is important to note that the Entrepreneurship Center will only reimburse or pay directly invoices once they have been received by the Center. At the discretion of the Center, students may be reimbursed for the invoices. or Trinity will directly pay the invoices. If any services or transactions are cancelled, funds must be returned to the Entrepreneurship Center.

To receive a Microgrant, successful applicants must:

• Submit an Application Form including a written Proposal and Budget that demonstrates the use of 100% of the requested microgrant funds. A request for less than $500 is allowed and the student can subsequently request the balance in another request.  Trinity Entrepreneurship Center staff will promptly acknowledge receipt of your application and competitively review all proposals promptly.

Proposals should be two pages (a one-page project activities narrative and a one-page budget).  The narrative proposal should allow reviewers to evaluate:

• the appropriateness of the proposed activities to meet the clearly stated project objective, and
• the impact these activities will have on the success of the venture.

The project narrative should also include a timeline for the completion of the proposed activities.

The budget proposal should contain all information required to evaluate the appropriateness of the proposed activities/expenses, including:

• all proposed expenditures listed in line-item format with accurate, well researched cost estimates
• a verbal explanation of why precise budget details cannot be provided, if that is the case

Grant recipients must provide a report after the funds are spent with receipts and documentation and a budget analysis. The report should also detail the progress the student made that was aided by the grants and include photos of the students with their grant funded materials, projects, and customers as appropriate.

Students may apply for up to 3 Microgrants for their ventures. Prior grants must be completed and the report submitted before a student is eligible to apply for another Microgrant.

These Microgrants are selected by and administered via the Trinity Entrepreneurship Center. Funds awarded are based on independent criteria developed by the Trinity Entrepreneurship Center.

Trinity College students can apply for Pre-Seed Grant funding up to $5,000 to help students after they have established a strong sense of their desired direction — as evidenced by customer research, product definition and a completed business model canvas.  Funds at this stage are typically used to prove out the business model direction — specifically, for next level expenses like full-patent application fees, marketing development and research, product prototyping, and other activities that help the company establish product/market fit and initial traction in the market.

• All full-time Trinity College students (undergraduate, graduate) are eligible to apply.
• Students from all academic disciplines are encouraged to apply. Preference will NOT be given to students studying business-oriented majors.
• Students may apply as individuals or in groups.
• Proposals may include faculty or staff in a mentoring or advisory role only, not as a group member. A faculty/staff sponsor is not required.
• Awards are made to students. If an award is made to a group, all members of the group share it equally.

Students must apply for grants and not all applications are approved for funding.  Students apply sequentially for funding — students applying for Seed grants, for instance, should have exhausted their Microgrant and Pre-Seed Grant options beforehand.

Microgrant Requirements Plus:

• Presentation Deck
• Three-Year Financial Model
• Product/Service Road Map
• Present live via Zoom to the Grant Review Committee

Students are encouraged to be creative with their requests, with the one restriction that all proposed expenses must directly relate to innovation or entrepreneurship and must be packaged as some sort of specific initiative that meets a need appropriate for this stage of their company. Requests can be up to $5,000 and meet the other criteria below.

• Market research
• Marketing, including business cards and logo wear
• Website development and domain registration
• Product prototyping
• Programming or coding
• Provisional and non-provision patent applications
• Legal costs for fundraising activities
• Freelance/Consulting support

Unacceptable expenses include instances where the full expense is substantially greater than the amount of the Pre-Seed Grant, and the student cannot achieve the full coverage of the expense.  Also, grants may not be used directly for expenses related to salaries, meals, entertainment, or travel.

It is important to note that the Entrepreneurship Center will only reimburse or pay directly invoices once they have been received by the Center. At the discretion of the Center, students may be reimbursed for the invoices. or Trinity will directly pay the invoices. If any services or transactions are cancelled, funds must be returned to the Entrepreneurship Center.

To receive a Pre-Seed Grant, successful applicants must:

• Submit an Application Form including a written Proposal and Budget that demonstrates the use of 100% of the requested Pre-Seed Grant funds. A request for less than $5,000 is allowed and the student can subsequently request the balance in another request. Trinity Entrepreneurship Center staff will promptly acknowledge receipt of your application and competitively review all proposals promptly.

Proposals should be two pages (a one-page project activities narrative and a one-page budget).  The narrative proposal should allow reviewers to evaluate:

• the appropriateness of the proposed activities to meet the clearly stated project objective, and
• the impact these activities will have on the success of the venture.

The project narrative should also include a timeline for the completion of the proposed activities.

The budget proposal should contain all information required to evaluate the appropriateness of the proposed activities/expenses, including:

• all proposed expenditures listed in line-item format with accurate, well researched cost estimates
• a verbal explanation of why precise budget details cannot be provided, if that is the case

Students should also submit a copy of their most recent PowerPoint pitch deck or business plan with the grant application.

Post grant, grant recipients must provide a report after the funds are spent with receipts and documentation and a budget analysis. The report should also detail the progress the student made that was aided by the grants and include photos of the students with their grant funded materials, projects, and customers as appropriate.

Students may apply for one Pre-Seed Grant during their tenure at Trinity. Any Pre-Seed Grant must be completed with a submitted report before a student is eligible to apply for another grant from the Entrepreneurship Center (e.g., a Seed Grant).

These Pre-Seed Grants are selected by and administered via the Trinity Entrepreneurship Center. Funds awarded are based on independent criteria developed by the Trinity Entrepreneurship Center.

Funds are limited and students should inquire about fund availability before applying.

Trinity College students can apply for Seed Grant funding up to $10,000 to help later stage students enter their target markets, after having established the need in the market for their products through earlier Pre-Seed funding options. Seed grants are only available for students with a proven product/market fit and need for funds to help with their “Go To Market” plans. Grants are typically used for legal expenses for funding rounds, sales and customer support software to support initial market sales, product testing and licensing fees to support marketing initiatives, and other similar deployment-focused expenses.  Funds are not meant for ongoing operational expense.

• ll full-time Trinity College students (undergraduate, graduate) are eligible to apply.
• Students from all academic disciplines are encouraged to apply. Preference will NOT be given to students studying business-oriented majors.
• Students may apply as individuals or in groups.
• Proposals may include faculty or staff in a mentoring or advisory role only, not as a group member. A faculty/staff sponsor is not required.
• Awards are made to students. If an award is made to a group, all members of the group share it equally.

Students must apply for grants and not all applications are approved for funding.  Students apply sequentially for funding — students applying for Seed grants, for instance, should have exhausted their Microgrant and Pre-Seed Grant options beforehand.

Students are expected to have a well-thought-out entrepreneurial effort considerably underway to apply for Seed Grants.

Microgrant and Pre-Seed Requirements Plus:

• Presentation Deck
• Three Year Financial Model
• Go To Market Product/ Service Plan
• Present live via Zoom to the Grant Review Committee

Students are encouraged to be creative with their requests, with the one restriction that all proposed expenses must directly relate to innovation or entrepreneurship. Requests can be up to $10,000 and meet the other criteria below.

• Market research
• Marketing outreach including social media advertising and events
• Ecommerce, CRM and other go-to-market software
• Product testing
• Quality assurance and customer success
• Provisional and non-provision patent applications
• Legal costs for fundraising activities
• Freelance/Consulting support

Unacceptable expenses include instances where the full expense is substantially greater than the amount of the Seed Grant, and the student cannot achieve the full coverage of the expense.  Also, grants may not be used directly for expenses related to salaries, meals, entertainment, or travel unless these are directly relevant to the proposed go-to-market project.

It is important to note that the Entrepreneurship Center will only reimburse or pay directly invoices once they have been received by the Center. At the discretion of the Center, students may be reimbursed for the invoices. or Trinity will directly pay the invoices. If any services or transactions are cancelled, funds must be returned to the Entrepreneurship Center.

To receive a Seed Grant, successful applicants must:

• Submit an Application Form including a written Proposal and Budget that demonstrates the use of 100% of the requested Seed Grant funds. A request for less than $10,000 is allowed and the student can subsequently request the balance in another request.  Trinity Entrepreneurship Center staff will promptly acknowledge receipt of your application and competitively review all proposals promptly.

Proposals should be two pages (a one-page project activities narrative and a one-page budget).  The narrative proposal should allow reviewers to evaluate:

• the appropriateness of the proposed activities to meet the clearly stated project objective, and
• the impact these activities will have on the success of the venture.

The project narrative should also include a timeline for the completion of the proposed activities.

The budget proposal should contain all information required to evaluate the appropriateness of the proposed activities/expenses, including:

• all proposed expenditures listed in line-item format with accurate, well researched cost estimates
• a verbal explanation of why precise budget details cannot be provided, if that is the case

Students should also submit a copy of their most recent PowerPoint pitch deck or business plan with the grant application.

Post grant, grant recipients must provide a report after the funds are spent with receipts and documentation and a budget analysis. The report should also detail the progress the student made that was aided by the grants and include photos of the students with their grant funded materials, projects, and customers as appropriate.

Students may apply for one Seed Grant during their tenure at Trinity. Any Seed Grant must be completed with a submitted report before a student is eligible to apply for another grant from the Entrepreneurship Center (e.g., a Seed Grant).

These Seed Grants are selected by an independent alumni review board and administered via the Trinity Entrepreneurship Center. Funds awarded are based on independent criteria developed by the Trinity Entrepreneurship Center.

Funds are limited and students should inquire about fund availability before applying.