grant

Updates on the Seventh Idea Cafe Grant

Now that we have selected the finalists (read more about them here and here), voting for the winner of the Seventh Idea Cafe Grant is now open, and will continue until July 7th. Visit the voting page (free registration required).

Today we start presenting our finalists in more detail. Every finalist who sent in answers to our question will be featured on the Idea Cafe blog. Regulars can learn more about the competing businesses, and help us determine the winner with their votes. We will be presenting preliminary results, while voting is underway.

Semi-finalists for Seventh Idea Cafe Grant Announced

Idea Cafe's editorial team has selected the semi-finalists for the Seventh Idea Cafe Small Business Grant. The selection process took into consideration several factors: how viable or interesting the business idea was; how well the entrepreneur described her plans for the future; and what she was willing to give back to the local community. We are thankful to everyone who applied for the grant, because going through the descriptions of hundreds and hundreds of wonderful small businesses was an inspiring and somewhat humbling task. And here they are, the semi-finalists for the Entrepreneurial Spirit 2009 Grant.

Idea Café Grant Registration Closes, Winner Selection Begins

The registration period for the Seventh Idea Cafe Small Business Grant closed on May 17, 2009. The editorial team of the site will now begin the preliminary selection of finalists, and voting for the winner will open on June 2nd. The entrepreneur who received the highest number of votes from Idea Cafe Regulars will be officially announced the winner of the Seventh Idea Café Small Business Grant on July 7th.

Idea Cafe grant campaign going strong

Registration for the current Idea Cafe small business grant is ongoing with significant interest on part of small business owners. Entrepreneurs from all across America are submitting their applications. Did you submit yours? It's free.

Announcing the new Idea Cafe small business grant

Recession or not, the spirit of entrepreneurs will continue to be celebrated on Idea Cafe. This is why we announce a new contest, where good business ideas for small business will compete against each other. That is right, the seventh Idea Cafe grant opens this week. We will award $1,000.00 and heaps of free publicity and national recognition to the entrepreneur, who comes on top in the competition against hundreds of other small business owners.

WOMbeat! - Putting the Idea Cafe grant win to work!

First of all, let me say how excited we here at WOMbeat! still are over the Idea Café “Innovation & Originality Grant” win. Not only did this win help us see a tremendous growth in traffic to our site, but we continue to get more coverage because of it. In fact, last week we were one of the guests on a talk-radio program called the Ceo Lounge. Listen for yourself here

Leah Larson and YALDAH magazine win Wells Fargo's Someday Stories contest

Leah Larson and YALDAH magazine won the previous Idea Cafe grant back in September. Now, the magazine has won the Well Fargo's Someday Stories contest (and $100,000), after receiving more than 28,000 votes. Leah started working on YALDAH magazine when she was 12, targeting an audience of Jewish girls.

We at Idea Cafe are proud to have selected her as a winner for the Kent Capener grant, and hope her story will be an inspiration to entrepreneurs of all ages. Read below for an exclusive Q&A.

Meet the Idea Cafe grant finalists

It was not easy to choose from the exceptional line-up of semi-finalists for the Innovation and Originality grant, but the deed is now done. We are honored to present you the people and companies who will compete for winning the grant. Read below for short descriptions of their businesses and ideas.

And the semi-finalists for the Idea Cafe Innovation and Originality Grant are...

Here they are, the semi-finalists for the Innovation and Originality Grant. Everyone on that list impressed us with their ingenuity, business acumen, and willingness to help others. If you are on the list -- congratulations! If not -- stay tuned to see which of the semi-finalists will continue to the next stage of the grant campaign.

Breakdown of grant applicants by business sector

As we were going through the long list of grant applications, it struck me how diverse the business ideas in that list were. While we will no doubt be getting more interesting details about our finalists and their companies, here is a fist look at the composition of the line-up of applicants.

The graph is based on about 75% of the data and is an approximation, but it does provide valid insight about the types and relative number of companies and individuals that applied. Click on the thumbnail below for the full image.

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