Growth Accelerator Fund Competition (GAFC)
Funds Entrepreneur Support Organizations strengthening innovation ecosystems through commercialization and capital formation.
The Growth Accelerator Fund Competition (GAFC) is an annual two-stage prize competition run by the Small Business Administration under its America's Seed Fund initiative. It supports Entrepreneur Support Organizations — accelerators, incubators, technology transfer offices, and university programs — rather than individual startups. The 2026 cycle is projected to be the largest in the program's his…
Prize competition funding Entrepreneur Support Organizations to strengthen innovation ecosystems through Lab-to-Market commercialization and Capital Formation programs.
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Guides for this application
All guides →Grants for Biotech Startups: NIH, NSF, SBIR/STTR, and Non-Dilutive Funding
A practical guide to grants for biotech startups, including NIH SBIR/STTR, NSF, translational funding, evidence, regulatory readiness, and budgets.
DocumentsGrant Work Plan Template: Work Packages, Gantt, Milestones, and Risks
Use this grant work plan template to structure work packages, tasks, owners, deliverables, Gantt timing, dependencies, and risk registers.
DocumentsGrant Pitch Deck Example: Slides, Storyline, and Video Script
See a grant pitch deck example with slide outline, EIC-style pitch logic, demo-video script, and grant-vs-investor deck differences.
Submit & reportSAM.gov Registration and UEI Guide for Federal Grant Applicants
Learn how SAM.gov registration, UEI numbers, Grants.gov accounts, organization profiles, workspace roles, and renewal timing fit together.
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