Funding
We’re here to help you take action and get your innovative ideas into the world — and that’s not always cheap. CITY offers several funding streams, and we can connect you to prizes and other funding sources across campus.
CITY FUNDING
CITY offers two core funds that support individual students and student organizations. Applications are accepted at any time during the fall and spring semesters, and awarded once a week (on Fridays).
Student Innovation FunD
Individual students can apply to the Student Innovation Fund for up to $500 for any of the following that are related to innovation and entrepreneurship:
Travel
Supplies
Any other necessary costs to move forward with an innovative idea or project
This funding cannot be used to pay Yale students for their time as a stipend or wage.
Student Event Fund
Student clubs and organizations can apply to the Student Event Fund for up to $500 of matching funds for any event that:
Relates to innovation or entrepreneurship
Promotes diversity and inclusion
Enables interdisciplinary collaboration
Results in some kind of concrete action
Note that these are matching funds: CITY will contribute no more than half of the cost of an event (up to $500), and you must have already received the amount to be matched from another sponsor before you can apply to this fund.
This funding cannot be used to pay Yale students for their time as a stipend or wage.
ARTS & MEDIA INNOVATION AWARDS
The Arts & Media Innovation Awards are a collaboration between Tsai CITY and the AACC to encourage art and multi-media explorations of Asian American identity. Asian American representation in mainstream media has been minimal, and we wish to encourage any student interested in creating a project that addresses this issue to apply. Five $500 awards will be given to the best proposals.
Students can apply with an idea as individuals or as part of a team. We welcome interdisciplinary teams from across Yale and New Haven. All are welcome to apply, but teams must consist of at least one current Yale student.
Projects could include an art piece, music, a short film or documentary, a podcast, poetry, or other creative project in any medium that broadens the representation of Asian American lived experiences in the fields of media and art. In addition to the $500 award, students will be paired with an alumni mentor and have guidance from Tsai CITY and the AACC in the development of their project.
Teams will be judged on the following criteria:
Is your idea innovative? We define innovative as “exploring, understanding, and challenging existing systems so as to imagine what could be”
Does your idea center, celebrate, and support underrepresented voices?
Does your idea address the issue of the lack of accurate Asian American representation in mainstream media?
Is your project accessible to a wide audience?
Applications are due on November 1, 2018. Submissions will be judged by a panel of alumni; winning projects will be debuted as part of Pan Asian American Month on March 28th, 2019.
Critical Innovation Fund
La Casa, the Center for Latin American and Iberian Studies (CLAIS), and CITY are collaborating to launch the Critical Innovation Fund. The Critical Innovation Fund consists of five $1,500 awards, which will be given out to teams with the strongest proposals for innovative ways to address pressing immigration challenges in America.
Teams can apply with any idea — an event, a movement, an educational campaign, a technological innovation, a storytelling project, a work of art — that addresses current immigration challenges in America. We welcome interdisciplinary teams from across Yale and New Haven. All are welcome to apply, but teams must consist of at least one current Yale student.
The award can be put toward time spent working on the project, materials, travel for research, or other project-related costs. Preference will be given to teams who have lived experience with the challenge they choose to address, and teams who are focusing on local and New Haven-based issues.
Teams will be judged on the following criteria:
Is your idea innovative? We define innovative as “exploring, understanding, and challenging existing systems so as to imagine what could be.”
Does your idea center, celebrate, and support underrepresented voices?
Does your idea address a challenge around immigration in the U.S.?
Do you understand how your chosen challenge is connected to other immigration challenges?
Applications are due November 15th, 2018, at 11:59pm.
STARTUP YALE PRIZES
Yale has five $25,000 entrepreneurship prizes that share a single application, two of which are awarded through CITY. These prizes are designed to support world-changing ideas from Yale students around health, education, sustainability, and technology.
| Prize | Awarded By | For |
| Miller Prize | Tsai CITY | a tech or tech-enabled service startup |
| Rothberg Catalyzer Prize @ Yale | Tsai CITY | an innovative hardware solution to a medical challenge |
| Sabin Sustainable Venture Prize | Center for Business and the Environment at Yale (CBEY) | products, services, projects, or programs that advance a more sustainable way of life |
| Thorne Prize for Social Innovation in Health or Education | InnovateHealth Yale | social innovation in health or education |
| Aetna Foundation Prize for Health Equity Innovation | InnovateHealth Yale | a technology solution to a health disparity challenge |
OTHER FUNDING RESOURCES
For other funding sources at Yale, consult this guide to entrepreneurship funding.
For grants and startup seed funding opportunities, check out the resources shared at Yale Wiki CITY.
For questions about funding innovative projects and ventures, speak with one of our mentors in residence who specializes in funding and fundraising.