OUR PARTNERS

We work closely with other economic development organizations, universities, community colleges, professional associations and state agencies.

  • Association for Manufacturing Excellence (AME) is the leading industry-diverse community of more than 5,000 professionals dedicated to enterprise excellence.
  • Cornell Center for Materials Research (CCMR) is an interdisciplinary organization established for the purpose of facilitating and promoting research and graduate instruction in the branches of science related to materials.
  • New York State Pollution Prevention Institute (NYSP2I) is a statewide research and technology transfer center funded by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC), which is partnered with and located at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). NYSP2I supports New York manufacturers with funded technical engineering and lab resources. NYSP2I’s partners include Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), Clarkson University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), the University at Buffalo (UB) and the 11 statewide New York Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) centers.
  • SCORE is a nonprofit association dedicated to educating entrepreneurs and helping small businesses start, grow, and succeed nationwide.
  • Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) is a competitive program that enables small businesses to engage in Federal Research and Development that has the potential for commercialization. Each year, Federal agencies with extramural research and development (R&D) budgets that exceed $100 million are required to allocate 2.5 percent of their R&D budget to these programs. AMT can assist companies to find and apply for SBIR R&D opportunities.

Broome

Chemung

Chenango

Delaware

Schuyler

Steuben

Tioga

Tompkins

NYSEG and RG&E programs that provide energy assistance and incentives related to business expansion and relocation, energy efficiency, capital expansion, building modernization, and more.

FuzeHub’s Jeff Lawrence Innovation Fund

Type: Competition-based
Frequency: Bi-annually with additional competitions offered throughout the year
Manufacturing Sector: All
Award Amounts: Up to $50,000

Managed by FuzeHub with funding provided by Empire State Development’s Division of Science, Technology and Innovation (NYSTAR), the fund supports a set of activities designed to spur technology development and commercialization across New York State. Non-profit organizations in New York State, including non-profit institutions of higher education, are eligible to serve as lead applicants for Manufacturing Grants available through the Innovation Fund. Applicants must demonstrate industry partnerships through which the project will benefit companies, especially manufacturers or early stage companies with projects relevant to the manufacturing sector.

NY Green Bank

Type: Market opportunity-based; post-revenue, mid to late stage companies
Frequency: Open solicitation
Manufacturing Sector: Clean Energy
Award Amounts: Typically $1 million or greater, smaller deals possible

NY Green Bank is a state-sponsored investment fund dedicated to overcoming current obstacles in clean energy financing markets and increasing overall capital availability through various forms of financial support such as credit enhancement, project aggregation, and securitization. As the largest “green bank” in the nation, NY Green Bank is working with private sector project developers, financiers, energy service companies, and others to advance clean energy projects across the state. They offer structured wholesale financial products and solutions, and focus on investments using the same technologies that drive carbon reduction and other public benefits contemplated under New York State clean energy policies.

NYSERDA

Type: Competitions, financing and other programs
Manufacturing Sector: Clean Energy
Award Amounts: Varies

With a 10-year, $5 billion funding commitment (Clean Energy Fund), NYSERDA is looking to invest $717  million over the next 10 years in early-stage technologies and companies through direct investments via grants and support of technology to market assets and resources (e.g. incubators, accelerators, proof-of-concept centers, etc.)

New York Ventures (Empire State Development)

Type: Both direct investment and fund-of-funds options for pre-seed, seed & early stage companies
Manufacturing Sector: All, including technology companies
Award Amounts: Ideally between $500,000 and $1.5 million

New York Ventures’ mission is to meet the critical capital needs of New York State’s innovation economy by providing seed and early-stage venture funding to high growth startups as they move from concept to commercialization.

The Innovation Technology Commercialization Fund

The innovation Technology Commercialization Fund is an $8 million pool of capital focused on pre-seed stage companies across New York State. The Innovation TC Fund operates through a fund-of-funds structure to provide critical pre-seed funding to incentivize commercialization and new business formation, facilitating the transition of ideas and research into marketable products. Four investment entities were competitively selected to manage the fund’s activities. The Innovation TC Fund investment entities will make investments of up to $100,000 per eligible company, and all require at least a 1:1 match from private sector funding sources at the time of investment.

The investment entities and their respective targeted regions are listed below.

The Innovation Venture Capital Fund (the “Fund”) is a $100 million venture capital fund that invests in seed and early stage businesses throughout New York State. The Fund provides critical funding to promote the commercialization of new technologies, encourage job creation and drive economic growth.

Fund Highlights:

  • Focused on Series A investments, considers occasional and opportunistic seed rounds
  • Direct equity investments in companies in industries such as information technology, life sciences, clean energy, and advanced manufacturing
  • Initial investments typically range from $500k to $1.5 million
  • All investments by the Fund require at least a 2:1 match

Global NY

Type: Loans and grants
Frequency: A few times a year

Manufacturing Sector: Financial Services, Food & Beverage, Advanced Manufacturing, Biotech & Life Sciences looking to expand globally
Award Amounts: Loans of up to $500K for equipment and working capital, grants of up to $25K

Global NY offers one stop shopping to both foreign businesses looking to invest in New York and to local businesses who want to export globally.

The Global NY Grant Fund is a $35 million fund that provides grants and loans to help New York State’s small and medium-sized businesses go global and create new jobs. The Global NY Fund Grant Program is open to New York State companies and non-profit organizations seeking to create or expand direct exports. All export grants are awarded on a reimbursable basis. Grants of up to $25,000 are provided to help companies start exporting or increase their global exports. Grants may be used for market customization, participation in trade shows/missions, export workshops and for product adaptations to meet foreign regulatory requirements. Grants of up to $50,000 are available to not-for-profit organizations that provide export assistance and trade education to New York State companies.

The Global NY Loan Fund is a partnership with participating lenders which provides export financing of up to $500,000 for each transaction, or an aggregate of $1,000,000, to eligible New York State small and mid-sized businesses.   Empire State Development (ESD) is also offering interest-free loans of up to $50,000 for Distilled and Fermented Beverage industry businesses to promote New York State’s thriving beverage industry on a global scale. Companies must apply to ESD for these loans.

CCMR JumpStart Program (Cornell Center for Materials Research)

Type: Grant funding
Manufacturing Sector: Materials engineering in any industry
Award Amounts: $5,000

Through collaborations with Cornell experts and with matching funds from New York State, the JumpStart program helps New York State small businesses solve identifiable problems related to materials. The award program provides: a semester-long project that utilizes Cornell University resources; up to $5,000 in matching NYSTAR funding; and an opportunity to build a relationship with university faculty and staff.

NYSP2I

Type: Project cost sharing
Manufacturing Sector: NY-based manufacturing companies
Award Amounts: Projects typically under $50,000

The New York State Pollution Prevention Institute (NYSP2I) is a statewide research and technology transfer center funded by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC), which is partnered with and located at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). NYSP2I supports New York manufacturers with funded technical engineering and lab resources. NYSP2I’s partners include Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), Clarkson University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), the University at Buffalo (UB) and the 11 statewide New York Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) centers. The university partners offer expansive technical expertise and facilities providing unparalleled capabilities in the fields of remanufacturing, polymer processing, toxics reduction, resource conservation, environmental engineering, biofuels testing, environmental management systems, and green chemistry. Expertise and facilities include the following:

  • On-site Technical Assistance for process evaluation, audit and improvement, pollution prevention strategies, and staff training. Assistance with technology transfer and scale-up, including pollution prevention opportunities, development of process and product designs, and training on equipment and systems. Programs are customized.
  • State of the Art Testing Facilities with 16 unique testbeds across its partner network. Testbeds offer demonstration facilities that allow for rigorous and replicable testing of technologies, theories, and tools including surface cleaning, printing, electronics manufacturing, process intensification, green supply chain management, polymer processing, toxicology, and biofuels testing to name a few.
  • Research, Development & Diffusion: R&D targets range from traditional industries such as printing, dry cleaning, and metal finishing to emerging areas such as nanotechnology and sustainable bio-based materials. Projects address product and process design, evaluation of alternative materials, studies of supply chains, and green chemistry approaches.

NYSP2I’s R&D Program focuses on applied research — research for near-term solutions to competitively reduce a company’s environmental footprint. R&D projects are conducted at NYSP2I’s four partner universities; researchers at these universities are eligible to apply and receive R&D grant funding each year to promote the development and ultimate implementation of sound, innovative technologies or processes that can reduce environmental impacts and overall costs in NYS.

The Direct Assistance Program for businesses deploys experts to work with your company to find productivity and efficiency gains. Their staff will work with you to gather relevant product or operational data and conduct on-site observations of processes and equipment. After identifying opportunities for improvement and/or savings, they can also perform detailed technical and economic feasibility analyses of the improvement options identified, and provide you with solid estimates around required investments, your expected payback period and anticipated environmental benefits. Anywhere from 50 to 90 percent of the cost of the assessment project is funded by NYS to help offset your costs associated with greening your operations.

Typical projects will look at the following areas to help your company become stronger:

  • Toxic use reduction
  • Product design & material use, and lifecycle cost reduction
  • Water conservation and recycling
  • Deployment of new technology (i.e. Vacuum Cycle Nucleation)
  • Waste reduction
  • Energy use and renewables

Workforce Development Institute

Type: Project-based grant funding
Manufacturing Sector: Manufacturing and energy
Award Amounts: Varies between $2.5K and $40K

Through a unique grants program, WDI makes investments that lead to workforce development and economic growth. This program is an “interactive” one, where WDI regional staff work directly with a business, union, or other entity to understand the issue at hand, and then help develop a customized response.

Federal Funding and Grant Opportunities:

Trade Adjustment Assistance Center (TAAC)

Type: 25/75 or 50/50 project cost sharing
Manufacturing Sector
Award Amounts: Depends on project – up to $75k

Trade Adjustment Assistance for Firms (TAA), a federal program, provides financial assistance to manufacturers affected by import competition. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Commerce, this cost sharing federal assistance program pays for 50-75% of the cost of consultants or industry-specific experts for projects that improve a manufacturer’s competitiveness.

Contact:
Teresa M. Stockton
Client Development Specialist
TAAC serving NY, NJ and the Commonwealth of PR
120 Hawley St. • Binghamton, NY 13901
Office: 607-777-2040 Ext. 2 • Mobile: 607-760-1545
tstockton@tradeadjustment.org

SBIR/STTR

Type: Award-based
Manufacturing Sector: Small/early stage companies in advanced manufacturing, energy companies in Research and Development phases
Award Amounts: Phase 1 – $150K, Phase 2 – $1m over two years

This is a highly competitive program that encourages domestic small businesses to engage in federal Research / Research and Development (R/R&D) that has the potential for commercialization. Through a competitive awards-based program, SBIR enables small businesses to explore their technological potential and provides the incentive to profit from its commercialization. By including qualified small businesses in the nation’s R&D arena, high-tech innovation is stimulated and the United States gains entrepreneurial spirit as it meets its specific research and development needs.

Networks, Associations, and Entrepreneurial Support Resources:

The Upstate Capital Association of NY advances investments in companies throughout Upstate New York. They facilitate connections between capital providers, companies and transaction professionals across the state.

LaunchNY provides mentoring and funding for Upstate New York startups. It provide startups with vital guidance, connections to expert resources and the funding needed to demonstrate proof of concept of the products and processes that will be needed to go to market.

New York State Certified Business Incubators and Innovation Hot Spots – There are many business incubators around New York that have a wealth of resources to support entrepreneurial efforts.

For more information about potential funding opportunities and assistance explore FuzeHub’s reports on New York State Programs for Manufacturersand Federal Programs for Manufacturers.