At the White House, the U.S. SBA Announces New Grant to Support Propeller’s Growth

New Orleans organizations receive three grants from the SBA

4 August 2015

NEW ORLEANS, LA (August 4, 2015) – Propeller: A Force For Social Innovation achieved an important milestone as it expands its programming in 2015-2016, when the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced its support of Propeller during the first-ever White House Demo Day today in Washington, DC.

As a sign of Louisiana's burgeoning entrepreneurial ecosystem, the SBA announced grant support to three New Orleans-based organizations today.  Along with Washington, DC, this was the most recipients in any city nationwide.  The Idea Village and PowerMoves.NOLA, two frequent partners and collaborators with Propeller, also received the news that they will be receiving grants for the coming year, as part of a nationwide effort that will provide $4.4 Million to accelerators that are supporting early-stage startups.

“SBA is continuing to make advances in supporting unique organizations that help the start-up community grow, become commercially viable, and have a real and sustained economic impact,” said SBA Administrator Maria Contreras-Sweet today. “Through the wide-spread outreach of this competition, we are able to reach entrepreneurial ecosystems across the nation. My commitment is to make our resources available to 21st century entrepreneurs where they are, and these accelerators are the gathering place for today’s innovators and disruptors.”

Andrea Chen, co-founder and Executive Director of Propeller, added: "This year our accelerator is growing -- from 15 entrepreneurs each year to over 40 -- as we expand to four Startup accelerators and add a new Growth Accelerator track. The SBA award will be vital to growing our staff capacity to expand our program, and we are honored to be selected."

According to the SBA, the grant recipients represent 39 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, serving entrepreneurs in a broad set of industries and sectors – from manufacturing and tech start-ups, to farming and biotech – with many focusing creating a diverse and inclusive small business community, which is a main objective of Propeller.