Burton D. Morgan Foundation awards $1 million-plus in grants

Story excerpt provided by West Side Leader.

The Burton D. Morgan Foundation Board of Trustees awarded grants totaling more than $1 million in February to support programs for youth, college students and adults to help them develop skills and gain experience in starting business ventures.

“Our roster of February grants includes both new and repeat grants, all aimed at advancing the energy and momentum of the Northeast Ohio entrepreneurial ecosystem,” said Deborah Hoover, foundation president and CEO. “The Northeast Ohio Student Venture Fund, for example, will offer advanced students the opportunity to experience the due diligence process on preseed capital investment for high-potential ventures in our region. The New York-based Venture for America will support fellows serving in two-year positions with Northeast Ohio startups. Finally, the Akron Global Business Accelerator will be able to establish the Bit Factory, space designed to bolster early stage ventures and help them thrive. The foundation believes in the power of our constantly evolving ecosystem to spur economic growth for our region.”

Grants approved include:

Akron Development Corp., $150,000 to build out space at the Akron Global Business Accelerator for the new Bit Factory accelerator program for high-potential information technology startups and for initial marketing;

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Originally Published Thursday, March 13, 2014.