Six Companies Share $104,000 in Startup PHL Grants

See who got the cash.

(Gajus/Shutterstock)

(Gajus/Shutterstock)

Startup PHL has announced six grants amounting to $104,538. Here’s who got the cash:

  • Tiny WPA ($25,000) – The Building Hero Project is a design, leadership and entrepreneurship incubator for individuals ages 16 and up who want to be a part of a diverse community of civic change agents. Participants will learn how to design and build products for sale and manage an eCommerce store.
  • Asociacion Puertorriquenos En Marcha ($20,000) – APM will convert a parcel of land at 6th and Susquehanna into a pop-up market place and provide entrepreneurial training to aspiring and nascent entrepreneurs, creating a gateway for entrepreneurial activity in this community.
  • TechGirlz Charitable Foundation ($19,990) – TechGirlz will provide a stipend or college credit for high school and college students who teach the TechShopz in a Box Program in workshops throughout Philadelphia. TechShopz in a Box is a TechGirlz-developed curricula for middle school girls.
  • Refugee Women’s Textile Initiative ($18,548) – The RWTI will empower refugee women with sewing and textile skills and manufacturing contacts to create independent businesses, develop a cooperative store, and merge traditional textiles with new art forms to overcome poverty and gain economic mobility.
  • Corzo Center for the Creative Economy at the University of the Arts ($15,000) In January 2016, the Center — in partnership with the Philadelphia Free Library — will offer an interactive, program to those considering a business based in the creative economy. Participants will also receive two hours of one-on-one consulting and the opportunity to apply for seed grants.
  • Schoolyard Ventures ($6,000) – Schoolyard Ventures will create a marketplace where teens with great ideas can connect with those who wish to fund them. After helping over 800 middle school and high school aged students launch businesses providing over $70,000 in direct micro-capital to them, Schoolyard Ventures has learned that as little as $250 can help a young person launch a business, as well as build skills and improve the lives of others in the city.

Startup PHL is an initiative of the City of Philadelphia’s Commerce Department, PIDC, and First Round Capital to provide funding for early-stage companies and help the startup scene thrive. It’s offered more than $1.1 million in seed stage or angel funding since Oct 2013.

Just last week, the Startup PHL Angel Fund invested $100,000 in Scholly, a smartphone app that helps students easily find scholarship funds.