Eligibility
Companies applying for an NC IDEA Grant must adhere to the following eligibility criteria. To review if your company is eligible, take our short Eligibilty Quiz.
North Carolina Residency
- Company must be headquarted in NC
- CEO/management team must reside in NC
- Virtual companies with management teams in multiple locations including outside of NC will be considered on a case by case basis.
In Scope - Companies eligible for the NC IDEA grants program
Companies operating in the following fields are considered "in-scope" and are therefore eligible to participate in the NC IDEA grants program:
- Information Technology
- Medical Diagnostics and Devices
- Material Sciences
- Green Technologies
Out of Scope - Companies NOT eligible for the NC IDEA grants program
Companies operating mainly in the following fields are considered "out-of-scope" and are therefore NOT eligible to participate in the NC IDEA grants program:
- Pharmaceuticals
- Biotechnology
Also NOT eligible are companies that operate mainly under the following business models:
- Consulting
- Not-for-profit
Stage of Development
Companies at any stage of development may apply for a NC IDEA Grant, but NC IDEA considers the optimal stage of development for applicants to be after "Proof of Concept" but before "First Institutional Funding".
Company must provide evidence that the idea or business model being proposed is feasible.
Receiving venture capital funding will not disqualify the company, however, preference will be given to companies without institutional investors.
Correct Uses of Funds
- Funds must be for business related expenses only and not for research activities
- Funds must not be intended for founder's salaries
- Funds must help companies achieve their most significant goals
- Examples of good uses of funds: Business planning, Market analysis, Beta prototype, Intellectual property protection
Grant Winner Requirements
- Company incorporation is not required in order to apply, however, if a company does not already exist, a project manager must incorporate his/her business prior to the receipt of any award
- Agree to maintain NC presence for up to 2 years or return award
- Provide NC IDEA quarterly updates during 1 year grant period
- Present final report to NC IDEA
- Agree to provide company information to NC IDEA for at least a period of 5 years after the grant period. NC IDEA is interested in tracking the success of the program by collecting statistics such as:
- # of employees
- revenue
- funding
NC IDEA will consider additional funding requests from previous grant winners in the form of a phase 2 grant or loan on a case by case basis.
Learn about the Application Process .
Grants
Register as a user to get email updates about the NC IDEA grants program. The Spring 2010 cycle is now open. Please take our Eligibility Quiz prior to beginning an application.
Grant questions
Make sure to read the entire Grants section of the NC IDEA website prior to applying for a grant. The online application is available to review when the grant cycle opens.
If after reading the Grants section of the website, you still have questions, please contact the NC IDEA grants manager via email with your questions.
Grants Manager Contact: grants@ncidea.org
Proof of Concept
NC IDEA defines 'proof of concept' as a necessary step start-up companies take to demonstrate that their product is viable.
Proof of concept involves research to prove that the core ideas are workable and feasible. Sometimes this requires making a minimalist prototype to show that the idea or device could be made to work.
If you have an idea and no research to back it up, you're not ready to apply.
Uses of Funds
Some of the types of items previously approved for use of NC IDEA grant dollars are:
- Market research
- Competitive analysis
- Business Plan refinement
- Business Development research
- Supplies
- Equipment
- Prototype development
- Legal fees for patent filings
