As some of you may know, 100K Ideas has recently launched our Office Hours Innovation Grant back in September. In partnership with the Ruth Mott Foundation, we are providing 10 innovators with the opportunity to be awarded $1,000. We are happy to share that Jonathan Blanchard and his organization STEMLETICS have been awarded our first grant. We got a chance to sit down with Johnathan, while visiting his space, where we learned about himself, his business, and his next steps after receiving this grant.
Jonathan is a 28 year old entrepreneur from the Flint Area. He started his business, STEMLETICS, back in 2016, with an idea of teaching students STEM through sports, helping youth learn the fundamentals of sports through technology, engineering, math, and statistics. STEMLETICS has been running their programs all through the city of Flint, starting off with virtual components and now transitioning to its recent addition of a brick and mortar space to run in-person programs, called EAST Facility. His ultimate goal is to teach students skills from arts to sports, that will help them learn paths they are able to take in life, while providing them with skills to achieve these dreams. Starting out with golf and hockey, he hopes to give access to youth who are generally unable to participate in these sports.
Jonathan came through the 100K Ideas process a few years back, as well as participated in our Pitch For $K idea competition back in November of 2019. After staying up to date on all our current events, he found out about the Office Hours Innovations Grant. He plans to use the funds he’s earned to help continue to build out the space even more, giving more opportunity to youth, and even adults, in the community.
EAST Facility is located in the Dort Mall, open from 12pm-8pm Monday-Saturday. Jonathan invites anyone to come in and check out the space and learn more about the memberships they have to offer. You can also find them on Facebook, @theEASTFacility, or Instagram, @stemletics, to stay updated on their upcoming events and happenings.
To apply for the grant yourself, here are the requirements:
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You must reside in Flint under the zip codes 48504, 48505, or 48506.
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You need to take your idea/business through the 100K Ideas process, if you have not yet done so.
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Lastly, you must present a clear statement on how you plan to use the funds to move your business forward.
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That’s it!
To get started with your idea/business through our process, visit:
https://www.100kideas.org/getstarted
To apply for this grant, if you meet all the requirements already, visit:
