Elevate Vermont — SBIR/STTR Matching Grant

Elevate Vermont — SBIR/STTR Matching Grant

Funds Vermont federal award recipients with matching support for commercialization planning and market launch execution.

The Elevate Vermont Matching Grant is a non-competitive reimbursement program administered by Vermont's Agency of Commerce and Community Development (ACCD), Department of Economic Development. Established under Vermont Act 74 of 2021 and effective July 1, 2022, the program provides up to $50,000 in matching funds to Vermont-based for-profit companies that have already received a federal SBIR or STTR award. The award is non-competitive and processed on a first-come, first-served basis — there is no scoring panel or comparative review.

To be eligible, a company must be headquartered in Vermont and must have an active federal SBIR or STTR Phase I or Phase II award in hand at the time of application. Phase I awardees must commit to applying for Phase II and use ElevateVT technical assistance for that Phase II application. Phase II awardees must be actively commercializing the technology at the time they apply. The matching grant reimburses commercialization expenses — marketing, market research, and sales materials — that are not already covered by the federal award. At least 51% of Phase II research activities must occur in Vermont. There is a lifetime cap of five Elevate Vermont grants per business, and companies with more than three prior Phase II federal SBIR or STTR awards are ineligible.

The program accepts applications on a rolling basis with no stated annual close date. Because awards are non-competitive, preparation effort is low relative to impact: an eligible Vermont company simply documents its federal award and the commercialization expenses it plans to incur. The key compliance obligations are maintaining Vermont headquarters throughout the project, ensuring no duplication of funding, and signing the grant agreement before incurring the expenses to be reimbursed. ACCD administers the program and can be contacted through the Department of Economic Development.