Title
2024 Sacramento Innovation Grant Award Recommendations
End
FileID
File ID: 2024-01979
End
Location
Location: Citywide
End
Recommendation
Recommendation: Pass a Motion authorizing the City Manager or City Manager’s designee to award Alchemist Kitchen, CDC, AMW Design, Atrium 916, Carlsen Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship at Sacramento State, Clean Start, and StartupSac with a Sacramento Innovation grant for a total amount not to exceed $452,870.
End
Contact
Contact: Michael K. Young, Development Project Manager, (916) 808-5298, mkyoung@cityofsacramento.org; Aubree J. Taylor, Development Project Manager, (916) 808-7191, ajtaylor@cityofsacramento.org; Denise Malvetti, Deputy Director, (916) 808-7064, dmalvetti@cityofsacramento.org; City Manager’s Office of Innovation and Economic Development
End
Presenter
Presenter: None
End
Attachments
Attachments:
1-Description/Analysis
End
Description/Analysis
IssueDetail
Issue Detail: On June 21, 2016, Council amended the Innovation and Growth Fund Policy to authorize the creation of new programs to expand the startup pipeline and engage the innovation ecosystem (Resolution 2016-0240). In doing so, Council unanimously approved a framework for the Sacramento Innovation Grant Program, which included that total program grant awards should not exceed $1 million annually.
Awarded projects in the four cohorts of the Sacramento Innovation Grant program (formerly known as RAILS Grant Program and SUTL Innovation Grant Program) have included support for incubators, accelerators, co-working spaces, makerspaces, training programs, events, and marketing activities that serve and foster Sacramento’s innovation ecosystem.
For the 2024 grant program, $500,000 was allocated to fund incubator and accelerator programs focused on nurturing cohorts of early-stage businesses that show high growth potential and offer innovative solutions to industry-focused needs.
The end goal is to have entrepreneurs that participate in the programs start or grow a business, spur innovation, and stimulate economic development in Sacramento.
The recommended incubator and accelerator programs provide support through a combination of services that include mentorship and coaching, education programs, product development support, legal and administrative services, marketing and branding, strategic partnerships, access to funding, and workspace solutions.
The application period for the grants opened on July 15, 2024, and closed on Sept. 9, 2024. Grant requests could not exceed $100,000.
The City received 70 applications totaling approximately $7 million in funding requests.
Members of the Mayor’s Tech Council, subject matter experts, and City staff engaged in a two-phase selection process using the established scoring rubric. City staff conducted an initial scoring and applications that met a minimum threshold were forwarded to the review panel for final review, scoring, and award recommendations.
The following criteria were used to evaluate and score applications:
a. Potential Project Impact (30 points)
b. Staff Experience and Capacity (20 points)
c. Finance and Budget (20 points)
d. Equity and Inclusion (15 points)
e. Partnerships & Collaboration (15 points)
Based on the evaluation, six recipients are recommended for funding, with programs anticipated to begin in the first quarter of 2025 and be complete within a year. The 2024 Sacramento Innovation Incubator and Accelerator Grant Recommendations include:
1. Alchemist Kitchen CDC
Grant Award: $88,100
The Alchemist Kitchen program supports food entrepreneurs from low-income and under-resourced communities in Sacramento through a two-phase incubator and accelerator structure. Phase One: the Alchemist Microenterprise Academy (AMA), enrolls 15-20 participants per cohort (with two cohorts annually) for a 12-week training focused on developing business plans and essential skills, aiming for 24 graduates over the grant period. Phase Two: the Alchemist Kitchen Incubator Program (AKIP), provides individualized support for 28 existing businesses, with six new participants added yearly, including access to a commercial kitchen to help launch and grow food businesses. The program’s key value proposition is empowering under-resourced entrepreneurs and fostering a resilient local food ecosystem, with success measured by the number of businesses launched, participant retention, and growth metrics within the community.
2. AMW Design
Grant Award: $57,906
The program by AMW Design supports 16 BIPOC and underserved entrepreneurs in two, 10-week cohorts in developing skills in tech, design, and engineering. Participants receive training in 3D printing, product development, and business strategy. This, paired with access to software, hands-on equipment, and mentorship is designed to build sustainable businesses in Sacramento’s creative economy. The program’s value lies in building technical and business skills among BIPOC entrepreneurs, tracking success by the number of viable products developed, program completion, and employment outcomes within the tech and creative sectors.
3. Atrium 916
Grant Award: $50,000
Atrium 916’s Incubator and Accelerator programs target underserved entrepreneurs with a focus on circular economy principles, sustainability, and local micro-manufacturing. Through workshops, market testing, mentorship, and product development, the program aims to create 10-15 new businesses and facilitate growth for 5-10 established businesses in fields including eco-friendly product design and creative arts. Atrium 916’s best value is its support for sustainable micro-manufacturing, with success measured by the number of businesses created, revenue generated, and participants’ integration of circular economy practices.
4. Carlsen Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship at Sacramento State
Grant Award: $99,560
The Carlsen Center’s Traction Lab Venture Accelerator (TLVA) offers a 10-month program to support 20 early-stage startups in refining business models, achieving product-market fit, and preparing for pre-seed funding. With a focus on sustainable, scalable businesses in sectors like GovTech, AgTech, and MedTech, the program engages founders in milestone-based activities, mentorship, and workshops to improve their investment readiness. The TLVA equips startups with customized resources and investor connections to secure pre-seed funding, measuring success by the percentage of startups achieving investor readiness and securing funding by program’s end.
5. CleanStart
Grant Award: $100,000
The Deep Dive Accelerator by CleanStart is a six-month program targeting 6-8 clean-tech startups that have completed initial training and are in the post-seed funding stage. Designed to help companies achieve deeper product-market fit, the program includes intensive coaching, peer review, expert feedback, and preparation for scaling. It aims to support growth-oriented companies in sectors such as renewable energy, energy efficiency, and sustainable water management. The core value of CleanStart’s program is providing targeted guidance to post-seed clean-tech startups, with success measured by participants' ability to secure growth funding and demonstrate scalable product demand.
6. StartupSac
Grant Award: $57,304
StartupSac’s FastTrac Entrepreneurial Training Program provides a 12-week course for 20 aspiring entrepreneurs across two cohorts, focusing on under-resourced communities, including BIPOC and economically disadvantaged individuals. The program covers comprehensive business skills such as planning, legal considerations, financial management, and marketing, aiming to launch sustainable local businesses through training, mentorship, and a Demo Day event. StartupSac’s key value proposition is empowering under-resourced entrepreneurs with foundational business skills, measuring success by program completion rates, business launch readiness, and participant satisfaction scores.
End
PolicyConsiderations
Policy Considerations: Council approved the creation of the Sacramento Innovation (formerly RAILS) Grant Program on June 21, 2016. The grant funding recommendations are in alignment with the Fund goals to “advance innovation, economic growth, and job creation in Sacramento.” The Sacramento Innovation Grant Program also aligns with the 2021 ScaleUp Inclusive Economic Development Action Agenda which highlights the importance of Innovation and Entrepreneurship and states, “the ability to innovate is the core driver of increasing productivity. Continual innovation, commercialization and business creation is crucial for success in a more competitive, fast-paced, knowledge-based economy.”
End
EconomicImpacts
Economic Impacts: The Sacramento Innovation Grant Program is designed to achieve medium to long-term economic outcomes by increasing the capacity of Sacramento’s innovation ecosystem and enhancing the conditions under which business startup formation may occur.
End
EnvironmentalConsiderations
Environmental Considerations: California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA): The proposed actions are not a project under CEQA because they relate to government fiscal activities that do not involve any commitment to a specific project which may result in a potentially significant physical impact on the environment. (Cal. Code Regs., tit. 14, §§ 15060(c)(3), 15378(b)(4)). Even if any of the proposed actions are a project, they are not subject to CEQA because it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that any of them may have a significant impact on the environment (Cal. Code Regs., tit. 14, § 15061(b)(3)).
End
Sustainability
Sustainability: Not applicable.
End
Commission/Committee Action
Commission/Committee Action: Not applicable.
End
RationaleforRecommendation
Rationale for Recommendation: The Sacramento Innovation Grant Program is critical to supporting Sacramento’s growing economy. Sacramento’s economy has long been over-reliant on government and real estate industries. Sacramento must become a hub of innovation, technology, and entrepreneurship to create private sector jobs that will bring new wealth to the community and drive growth across business sectors. Without an intentional shift towards new industries, and without a specific commitment to diversity and inclusion, Sacramento will not reach its full economic potential.
The goals of this program align with the City’s ScaleUp inclusive economic action agenda to drive the region’s growth by prioritizing new strategies to create economic mobility and opportunity for all residents. The innovation grant program not only will help diversify Sacramento’s economy but is critical to providing underserved communities access to Sacramento’s innovation ecosystem, helping to increase entrepreneurship rates and income equality.
End
FinancialConsiderations
Financial Considerations: The total of the six contracts is $452,870. There is sufficient funding available in the Sacramento Innovation Grant Program Project fund (I18000100, Fund 2031).
End
LocalBusinessEnterprise
Local Business Enterprise (LBE): The solicitation was not subject to the LBE policy, however, all selected awardees will provide programming at physical locations in the Sacramento city limits with 90% of participants either residing or having a business location in the Sacramento City limits.
End