Get Funded Participation Guide

Overview

Get Funded is a milestone seed grant program designed to help all Illinois Wesleyan University students get their ideas off the ground. A milestone is a goal or accomplishment that tracks your progress as you develop and grow their idea. Get Funded is looking for short-term measurable milestones (e.g., prototyping, marketing, app development) that can be achieved within 30-90 days.

All applications will be reviewed on their ability to describe the problem/opportunity/challenge and solution that their idea addresses. 

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Eligibility Requirements

Get Funded is a milestone seed grant program. The student must take the lead in applying and must play a major role in formulating the solution to a problem, opportunity, or challenge. This is a student seed grant pitch event and is based on the work of students. Get Funded does not award ventures that are not formed and managed by students. International students may require prior employment authorization. All students on F and J visas should consult with the International Office before participating in Get Funded. Refer to the International Office website and FAQ for more information.

Participating teams must be composed of at least one Illinois Wesleyan University student and meet all the following criteria*:

• The founding student must be registered for a minimum three (3) course units during the semester they are participating. The courses must be taken as a matriculated, admitted, and degree-seeking student.
• A representative from your team must participate in each stage of Get Funded (application and pitch).
• There are no restrictions regarding other team members; however, we highly recommend building a collaborative, creative team with cross-disciplinary skills (e.g., finance, marketing, communications, graphic arts, software development).
• The funds awarded must be used to advance the idea.
• If you have already been awarded seed funding for this same idea or venture through the Titan New Venture Challenge, you are not qualified to enter Get Funded for this same idea/venture.
• For existing companies:
  • If the company has been registered in any state longer than 24 months, a brief history of the company is required in the application.
  • The cumulative revenue, debt, grant, or third party-financing for the company has not exceeded $100,000.

The top teams receiving votes at the pitch event will receive their funding ask (from $1 to $500 maximum). The funds awarded must be used to advance their idea. Funding can take several weeks to be dispersed.

*NOTE: Rules and exceptions are up to the discretion of The School of Business and Economics and its representatives. Submission content must be appropriate for the student, judge, sponsor, and volunteer audience. Inappropriate content will result in disqualification. Direct any questions about eligibility to Bryan McCannon at bmccanno@iwu.edu. 

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Competition Process

Teams must apply online by Monday, October 14, 2024.

Following a review of their application, teams will be invited to participate in Get Funded on Wednesday, October 16, at 6 p.m. The event will take place in the Hansen Student Center.

Each team will have three minutes to make their pitch, followed by three minutes of questions from the judging panel. Be sure to include in the pitch the following:

• Describe the problem/opportunity/challenge and solution their idea addresses.
• State the short-term, measurable milestone they intend to achieve within the next 30-90 days with the seed grant funding they are requesting between $1 and $500.

At least one slide is required with the name of the idea and the team leader’s first and last name. Teams may present additional slides, but they must keep in mind that they only have three minutes to make their elevator pitch. Teams will be asked to stop presenting at the three-minute mark. Slide decks must be sent to John Quarton at bmccanno@iwu.edu by 9 a.m. on Wednesday, October 16, 2024.

*IMPORTANT NOTE: The ONLY presentation file type allowed is PDF. Please convert all other file types to PDF before sending.

 

Evaluation Criteria

Below are the evaluation criteria the panel of judges will use to review the ideas presented and determine who gets awarded. Each application selected to pitch receives feedback on the criteria from the panel after their pitch. In addition, each team will receive pitch coaching from the Get Funded judging panel.

Idea

• Does the student describe the idea and the problem, challenge, or opportunity that it addresses clearly?

Milestone

• Does this milestone help develop the idea into a viable solution?
• Does this milestone help develop the idea into a virtuous solution?
• Is this the right amount of funding for the student to complete the milestone?
  
  

Grant Awards

Judges will award the top team(s) at the pitch event all or a portion of their funding ask (up to a $500 maximum). The funds awarded must be used to advance the idea. Funding can take several weeks to be dispersed.

We are unable to fund the following:

• Travel
• The purchase, rent and renovation of office/business space
• Equipment that is not the core of the business (e.g., cell phones, laptops, etc.)
• Salaries
• Cost of inventory not directly related to marketing or prototyping
  
  

Tax Implications

Payment for winning a competition or being a top performer is not a scholarship or fellowship; instead, it is a prize or award and is given without stipulation as to how it must be used. Prizes of this nature may be taxable to the recipient, but are not considered wages even if the student is employed by the university. If certain dollar thresholds are satisfied, the university will report the prize or award to the IRS and the student on IRS Form 1099-Misc, Miscellaneous Income. Students will be required to complete a W-9 form before a prize can be disbursed.

 

Part II Certification of Citizenship Found on W-9 form (see below)

This MUST be reviewed prior to signing. If you are unable to certify after review, please contact Bryan McCannon at bmccanno@iwu.edu. Your award will be distributed differently if you cannot certify.

 

No Confidentiality Agreement

As a participant, you are responsible to protect any information concerning your idea that you share with advisors, team members and fellow participants of the competition. Illinois Wesleyan University takes no responsibility for unwanted disclosure in these instances. Contestants should be careful about disclosing information concerning proprietary concepts.