The Lehigh Valley Community Foundation is inviting applicants for its Creative Entrepreneur Accelerator Program to pair access to existing small business consulting services with financial resources for creative entrepreneurs who aspire to start their own for-profit business or who operate an existing for-profit micro business.
Donor Name: Lehigh Valley Community Foundation
State: Pennsylvania
County: Carbon County (PA), Lehigh County (PA), Monroe County (PA), and Northampton County (PA)
Type of Grant: Accelerator
Deadline: 11/15/2022
Size of the Grant: $500 to $2,000
Details:
The Program’s purpose is to help creative entrepreneurs to grow their business, audience, and revenue. The Creative Entrepreneur Accelerator Program is a new program funded by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts (PCA), a state agency under the Office of the Governor, and administered regionally by the Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts (PPA), PCA’s statewide network of re-granting partners. The Lehigh Valley Community Foundation serves as the PCA’s PPA partner organization for Carbon, Lehigh, Monroe, and Northampton Counties.
Funding Information
Grant amounts range from $500 to $2,000.
Eligibility Criteria
- Creative entrepreneurs are eligible to apply for the Creative Entrepreneur Accelerator Program once every three years.
- Applicants must:
- Be at least 18 years of age and a current resident of Pennsylvania for at least one year.
- Operate a business with annual gross revenue less than $200,000.
- Be a creative entrepreneur intending to form a business or operating a business in Pennsylvania within one or more of the following creative industry areas:
- Marketing – Advertising and marketing agencies & professionals.
- Architecture – Architecture firms & architects.
- Visual Arts & Crafts – Galleries, artists, artisans & makers.
- Design – Product, interior, graphic, and fashion design firms and designers.
- Film & Media – Film, animation, TV & Radio businesses.
- Digital Games – Companies, programmers & individuals producing games.
- Music & Entertainment – Producers, venues, musicians & performers.
- Publishing – Print or electronic businesses & content creators, editors & writers
Eligible uses
- Eligible uses of funds include:
- 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
- Reasonable fees for supporting/collaborating artists
- Purchase of supplies and equipment.
Ineligible Uses
- Funds cannot be used for the following:
- Activities outside the funding period
- Activities that have a religious purpose
- Payments to lobbyists
- Activities for which academic credit is given
- Offsets to regular business operating costs, including regular salary or wages
- Hospitality, food, or beverages
For more information, visit LVCF.
