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Spark Grants

Spark Grants

Funds student startup ideas at Carnegie Mellon with early product validation grants.

Between cyclesJames R. Swartz Center for EntrepreneurshipUnited States

Spark Grants are micro-grants of up to $3,000 offered by Carnegie Mellon University's James R. Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship through its Project Olympus incubator program. The grants are available exclusively to current CMU student founders who are actively engaged in Swartz Center programming, including Customer Discovery Kickstart, NSF I-Corps, Innovation Scholars, Swartz Fellows, or who ar…

Customer discovery, MVP development, and prototype building for current CMU student founders actively enrolled in Swartz Center or Project Olympus programming, with awards up to $3,000.

CycleiHow often this grant runs — e.g. annually, on a rolling basis, or a one-off call.Annual
Next deadlineiThe next date applications are due. Rolling means you can apply any time.—
Decision timeiTypical time from the deadline to the funder's decision.—
Project durationiHow long the funded work is expected to run.—
Award typeiThe form of funding — grant, equity, loan, tax credit, etc.Grant
Match fundingiThe share of project costs you must cover yourself. 0% = fully funded.0%
Funding pooliThe total budget available across all awards in this round.—

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Last verified: 24 Jul 2026Source: www.cmu.edu