Funding
President’s Innovation Challenge
A global venture competition for Harvard students and select alumni and affiliates. $515,000 total awarded. Application opens in the fall.
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Funding
Social Impact Fellowship Fund
Non-dilutive grants for ventures led by Harvard students with a focus on social impact. Ventures may be for-profit or nonprofit. Typical award amount: $4,000-$15,000. Application opens in the fall.
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Funding
Spark Grant
Non-dilutive grants for ventures in our Student i-lab membership to conduct demand validation experiments. Award amount: Up to $750 first round. Up to $2,000 in subsequent rounds. Application opens in the spring.
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Funding
Allston Venture Fund
An investment collaborative that provides pre-seed funding to high-potential, high-impact ventures led by Harvard students. Typical award amount: $10,000-$100,000. The next deadline will be announced soon.
We used our Spark Grant to organize a workshop with kids and families, which gave us invaluable insights to improve the prototype we are working on. The i-lab workshops and Spark Grant have been game-changing resources!
Full-time, degree-seeking Harvard students and select alumni and affiliates are eligible to participate in this annual global venture competition. Ventures compete to win a share of $515,000 in non-dilutive funding from the Bertarelli Foundation.
The student application for the 2025 President's Innovation Challenge closed on Dec. 5. Stay tuned in late January when we will announce the semifinalists.
Spark Grants are non-dilutive grants,
provided by the Allston Venture Fund and distributed by the Harvard
Innovation Labs, to help Harvard student i-lab members validate demand and build a strong foundation for venture growth.
Available Funding
In the first round, eligible students will be awarded up to $750 to
test demand. In a future semester, students may apply for up to $2,000
in additional funding.
Eligibility
Spark Grants are available to current Harvard student i-lab members
in the Test or Propel stages that fulfill all the following criteria
without exception:
- Ventures must be members of the current Student i-lab term.
- Ventures must be in either the Test or Propel stages, though Spark Grants are geared toward Test-stage ventures.
- Ventures must have participated in at least one prior membership term within the last 12 months.
- Ventures must have a plan to use the money for demand validation and disclose if they have previously received Spark Grant funding in their application.
- Ventures with a for-profit or a nonprofit business model are welcome to apply.
Application + Selection Process
- Complete the online application. If this is your first time applying, describe how you will use the grant to test demand for your product or service.
- In subsequent applications, applications
will be asked to describe the experiment(s) they ran and what they
learned for a chance to win additional funding.
- Funds are distributed by Harvard Innovation Labs staff based on demonstrated need, impact of funds, and overall demand.
The Fine Print
Ventures do not need to be incorporated to accept the non-dilutive grants; however, please note there may be tax and visa implications.
Key Dates
We’re adjusting the timeline for the Spark Grant this year to better serve both new and returning students. The next round of funding will now take place in the spring, allowing all new and renewal students an opportunity to apply. We appreciate your understanding and look forward to supporting your innovative projects in the spring.
The Allston Venture Fund is an investment
collaborative that provides pre-seed funding to high-potential,
high-impact ventures led by Harvard students.
Available Funding
The fund invests approximately $700,000 per year over three investment periods: Fall, Spring, and Summer. Investments take the form of a simple agreement for future equity (SAFE) and range in value from $10,000 to $100,000. More than one team may be funded each round
Eligibility
Open to Harvard student-led ventures that meet all the following criteria without exception:
- The venture has an active founder or co-founder who is a matriculated, degree-seeking Harvard student.
- The venture has achieved material traction.
- The venture is incorporated as a C corporation.
- The venture is actively raising capital.
Application + Selection Process
The Allston Venture Fund Investment Committee is independent from Harvard and is solely responsible for the selection of applicants to present to the committee and for all investment decisions. The committee is comprised of partners from each of the founding firms: Bain Capital (Amit Bhatti), General Catalyst (Larry Bohn), GETTYLAB (Aniq Kassam), Highland Capital (Paul Maeder), Polaris Partners (Terry McGuire), and Underscore VC (Lily Lyman). No Harvard employee, faculty member, or student serves on the committee.
- Complete the online application. This includes a required pitch deck.
- The Investment Committee reviews and evaluates all applications.
- Five
to seven ventures (each round) are invited to pitch virtually to the
Investment Committee. Invited ventures will be notified via email by
Harvard Innovation Labs staff, and must meet with staff advisors to
prepare their pitch and deck.
- After the virtual pitch day, the Investment Committee determines the number of investments and investment amounts and notifies winners within one to two weeks.
The Fine Print
Harvard does not endorse, and is not
responsible for, any investment, activity, product, or service of the
Allston Venture Fund or its investors. By submitting an application,
you consent to the release of information contained in your application
to The Allston Venture Fund. Do not include confidential information
in your application.
Key Dates
The next AVF deadline will be announced soon.