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Springboard 2025 Guidelines

General Guidelines

Springboard is an innovative rapid prize competition designed to incentivize a new wave of participants, energy, and entrepreneurial activity and strengthen the entrepreneurial ecosystem in WNY. Springboard supports events, initiatives, and programs that connect entrepreneurs with resources, information, and other entrepreneurs and organizations. 

Eligible Applicants

Applicants must have an Employee Identification Number (EIN) and be located in Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Monroe, Niagara, Orleans or Wyoming county to apply. Eligible types of applicants include:

  • Non-profit or for-profit entrepreneur support organizations
  • Local school districts grades K-12
  • Local colleges and universities that have programs to support up-and-coming entrepreneurs
  • Capital providers including seed stage funds, angel groups, venture capital funds, and CDFIs
  • Entrepreneurs with an existing company including sole proprietorships

Requests for funding need to focus on: (1) organizing, hosting, producing, and/or managing events, networking activities, or developing connections and learning for entrepreneurs in WNY and/or learning from and travel to peer markets outside of Western New York and (2) all events, activities, and peer learning cohorts must include some programming/learning element with a focus on entrepreneurship, ecosystem building, and/or innovation programming/knowledge sharing (speakers, workshop, curricula, etc.). Some examples include, but are not limited to:

  • Networking, events, activities that expand the ecosystem, provide learning, share information, and build networks.
  • Entrepreneurship competitions, demo days, hackathons, etc.
  • Regional Start-Up weeks/weekends or other large-scale events that appeal to a wide audience including outside of WNY, including but not limited to, investors, talent, WNY diaspora, etc.
  • Events (ranging from hyper-local to regional) organized around a specific entrepreneurship theme or topic or set of topics.
  • Competitively selected entrepreneurs as part of a learning cohort (including travel) to peer cities (i.e., Pittsburgh, Tulsa, Indianapolis, etc.)
  • Existing events such as coffee clubs, meet-ups, etc. that include new entrepreneurship-related programming.
  • Investor days, venture lectures, Investing 101, familiarization tours of other, outside aspirational ecosystems.

Springboard Competition will not fund the following:

  • Long-term events or engagements that require funding beyond 12 months from Springboard.
  • Funding for organizational overhead costs, other than direct costs required to deliver proposed program.
  • Government entities (municipalities, counties, state).
  • Programs or events that only benefit entrepreneurs outside of Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Monroe, Niagara, Orleans or Wyoming counties.

 Prizes & Program/Application Parameters

Applicants can apply for prize awards from $5,000 up to $100,000. 

There will be approximately 10-25 winners in one round of funding in 2025 totaling at least $500,000.

Each awardee will receive 85% of the grant upon execution of the Grant Agreement to implement their initiative and 15% at the completion of the agreed-upon scope of work and/or on the day of the final event. Each awardee will commit to attending Springboard Prize-sponsored events for one (1) year from award. Any reporting requirements will be for one (1) year from the Effective Date of the winner’s grant agreement. 

Events/activities/programs must occur/be completed between August 1, 2025 and August 31, 2026.

One application per applicant/organization may be submitted. If multiple applications are received, the first application submitted will be considered and judged for the award competition. Subsequently submitted applications will be ineligible. 2024 Springboard award winners are eligible to apply for Springboard 2025.

How to Apply

Applications must be submitted online.

Questions or technical difficulties can be sent to info@springboardny.org for assistance.

By submitting an application, the applicant confirms it has reviewed and agrees to Springboard Terms and Conditions.

Deadline to Apply and Award Announcements

The deadline for receipt of applications is June 10, 2025 by 5 pm ET.

Applicants will need to be available during the week of July 6, 2025 for pitching their proposal to a panel of judges and the week of July 20 for the prize award event which will take place in Buffalo, NY. Exact dates are TBD but will be announced by the end of May 2025. 

General Timeline

  • May 5: Application period opens
  • June 10: Applications due
  • June – July: Application review, short-list, interviews/pitches and scoring; Winners selected and notified.
  • July 24: Award event held in Buffalo to announce all 2025 winners.

Review Process

Submitted applications will be reviewed by a judging committee based on the following criteria:

Project/Program Description

The project description is clear, concise and well communicated. The activities are well designed for the project’s intended goals. The project is clearly new or is programmatically additive to an existing program.

Project Partners

The project aligns with the mission of the applicant and any partner organizations will meaningfully contribute to the project.

Target Population

The target population is clearly defined and includes diverse populations.

Outreach

The outreach and communication strategies are comprehensive, strategic and will likely succeed in reaching the target population.

 Outcomes and Mission Alignment

The applicant’s projected impacts and outcomes are realistic, clear and attainable. The project will help incentivize a new wave of participants, energy and entrepreneurial activity. The project will benefit new and/or growing entrepreneurs.

Questions

Contact info@springboardny.org for assistance.

Terms and Conditions

By submitting an application to receive an award under Springboard, each organization submitting an application (an “Applicant”) agrees that it has read, accepted, and will abide by and be bound by, the terms and conditions set forth below (the “Conditions”).

The Program is void where prohibited by law or regulation. The Program and these Conditions are subject to modification, cancellation, or limitation at Organizers’ sole discretion, with or without notice, including to persons who have already entered the Program.

The Program is open only to existing nonprofits and for-profit businesses that (i) have been in business for at least one year; (ii) are currently and have been physically located and operating in one or more of these New York State counties: Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Monroe, Niagara, Orleans or Wyoming, (iii) are in good standing with the Internal Revenue Service, and are owned by legal residents of the United States who are 18 years of age or older as of the time of entry; and (iv) otherwise comply with any eligibility requirements set forth in the Program application or other materials. Employees, officers, and directors of Organizers and any independent contractor hired by either of the Organizers for any purpose and members of the immediate families of such persons (spouses, children, siblings, parents, and/or persons living in the same household as such persons, whether or not related), are not eligible to enter the Program.

Applicant acknowledges and agrees that information contained in its application will be shared with the Facilitators and/or Partners to assist Organizers with judging. Applicant data will not be sold to any third parties.

Applicant acknowledges and agrees that Organizers may, from time to time, require assurances from Applicant that Applicant has complied, is complying, and will comply with these Conditions. Organizers reserve the right, in their sole and unfettered discretion, to disqualify, and/or seek any and all remedies available from, any Applicant deemed to be (i) tampering or attempting to tamper with the entry process or the operation of the Program or any other Organizer purpose or activity; (ii) attempting to defraud Organizers or the other contestants; (iii) violating the Conditions; (iv) acting in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner, or with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass any other person; or (v) associated or connected with any individual having done the above.

Applicant represents and warrants that its entry (a) is original; (b) was substantially created by the Applicant; (c) was legally created and does not infringe the intellectual property, copyrights, privacy or publicity rights or any other legal or moral rights of any third party and Applicant has obtained all waivers and releases required of third parties, if any, for any of its Entry content. Organizers shall not be responsible to a third-party for any Applicant’s failure to comply with this provision, and each Applicant agrees to indemnify Organizers for any such claim.

Applicant acknowledges and agrees that as a condition of receiving an award, any award semi-finalist may be required to submit to a confidential background check to help ensure that the use of any such person in publicity or promotion of the Program will not bring the Organizers or Program into public disrepute, contempt, scandal, ridicule or reflect unfavorably on the Organizers or Program. In addition, the award recipient may be required to enter into or execute certain contracts or documents, including, among other things, terms governing the use of the award and certain releases of liability in favor of the Organizers and/or Facilitators.

For good and valuable consideration, including participation in the Program, which is hereby acknowledged, each Applicant hereby releases and forever discharges the Organizers, the Facilitators, and their respective parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, directors, distributors, advertising and promotion agencies, employees and agents (collectively, the “Released Parties”), from and against any and all causes of action, rights, claims or demands of any kind, whether in tort or in contract, express or implied, known or unknown, which such Applicant have or may have against them, for personal injuries, death, damage or loss to personal property, or other harm or loss of any nature whatsoever sustained in connection with, or otherwise arising directly or indirectly from, claims, demands or causes of action that such Applicant may now have or may hereafter have for arising, resulting from, or in connection with the Program including, but not limited to, (a) any Program-related activity or element thereof and the Applicant’s entry, participation, or inability to participate in the Program; (b) the violation of any privacy, personal, publicity or proprietary rights; (c) typographical errors in these Conditions or any Program promotional materials; (d) any change in the prizing (or any components thereof) due to unavailability, business or creative considerations, or due to reasons beyond Organizers’ control or as otherwise permitted in these Conditions; (e) any interruptions in or postponement, cancellation, or modification of the Program; (f) human error; (g) incorrect or inaccurate transcription, receipt, or transmission of any part of the Program entry; (h) any system, computer timing and/or dating mechanism, computer equipment, software, or Internet service provider utilized by Organizers, Facilitators or by an Applicant; (i) interruption or inability to access the Program, or any Program-related web pages or any online service via the internet due to hardware or software compatibility problems; (j) any damage to Applicant’s (or any third person’s) computer and/or its contents related to or resulting from any part of the Program; (k) any lost/delayed data transmissions, omissions, interruptions, defects, and/or any other destroyed, incomplete, undeliverable or damaged Program Entries; (l) any wrongful, negligent, or unauthorized act or omission on the part of Organizers, Facilitators, or any of their respective agents or employees; (m) the tabulation of the votes, or (n) the selection by Organizers or its advisors/judges of the award finalists.

Applicant grants the Organizers and Funder permission to use likeness and brand name in a photograph, video, or other digital media (“photo”) in any and all of its publications, and/or digital media, including web-based publications, without payment or other consideration.

Last Update: April 7, 2025