As it prepares to soon begin taking applications for its 2022 startup competition, St. Louis nonprofit Arch Grants said Tuesday it will increase the amount of funding it provides to each winning company by 50%.
Companies awarded Arch Grants in 2022 through it annual startup competition will receive $75,000 in equity-free funding for their businesses, up from the $50,000 the nonprofit has doled out through the contest in past years. Additionally, Arch Grants said Tuesday it will provide more relocation assistance funding for startups that relocate to St. Louis through the program. Arch Grants requires that startups it backs relocate to the city of St. Louis for at least a year.
The increased funding that Arch Grants will begin providing this year through its annual startup competition is the latest move it has made to provide its portfolio companies with more cash. In 2021, the nonprofit launched its Growth Grants initiative that provides $100,000 in follow-on funding to former Arch Grants winners that are based in St. Louis. The new initiatives follow Arch Grants announcement last year that it had raised $21.5 million in a capital campaign, allowing it to deploy more capital to local startups.
Through the expanded funding, Arch Grants said out-of-town companies could receive up to $100,000 through its annual startup competition. In addition to the $75,000 grants, Arch Grants will now provide startups that are relocating with $25,000 to help fund their move to St. Louis. Arch Grants first began providing relocation grants in 2021, offering startups $10,000. Companies eligible for the $25,000 relocation grants must be coming to St. Louis from outside Missouri and/or 150 miles away from St. Louis.
“We’re excited to take this dramatic step to increase the size of grants for local awardees to $75,000, and for out-of-state awardees to $100,000,” said Jerry Schlichter, founder and chairman of Arch Grants. “We’re confident that this increase, along with the possibility of an additional follow-on Growth Grant of $100,000 in non-dilutive capital, will attract even more highly talented entrepreneurs to St. Louis.”
Arch Grants said Tuesday it expects to fund about 20 companies through its 2022 Startup Competition. Applications for the contest open March 18 and close April 15.
Since its launch in 2012, Arch Grants has had a significant impact on St. Louis' startup economy. Of the 207 startups backed by Arch Grants, 165 are still in operation or have been acquired, according to the organization and a St. Louis Inno review of its record. Of those still operating, nearly 90% have operations — either their headquarters or an office — in St. Louis, employing around 800 people locally as of the end of 2020.
Arch Grants is currently led by Executive Director Emily Lohse-Busch, who last week said she will depart the nonprofit next month to launch her own consulting practice.
