Manufacturing Grants (Jeff Lawrence Innovation Fund)

Manufacturing Grants (Jeff Lawrence Innovation Fund) is sponsored by FuzeHub (New York State). These grants encourage collaboration between not-for-profit organizations and small to medium-sized manufacturing companies in New York State. They support technology transfer, new manufacturing processes, and innovative products.

Manufacturing Grants: Jeff Lawrence Innovation Fund The Jeff Lawrence Innovation Fund supports a set of activities designed to spur technology development and commercialization across New York State. Launched in 2016, the fund is named for Jeff Lawrence, a champion of the New York manufacturing and entrepreneurial communities.

Providing $1M+ annually, the Innovation Fund comprises three program tracks: Manufacturing Grants; Commercialization Competition; and when funding permits, an Innovation Challenge. The 2026 Manufacturing Grants are closed, and applications are under review. We expect to announce awardees in July.

Details here>> The Commercialization Competition will open July 6. Details here>> The Microelectronics Innovation Challenge is now closed. Discover the 2025 awardees here.

Impact on the NYS Economy Fuzehub is not just some distant funder - they became a close partner of ours, making connections and guiding our development through critical milestones and one step closer to bringing more R&D and sustainable manufacturing jobs to Central New York.

This relationship has opened many doors for us that have led led to major successes, team development, follow-on funding, and strategic partnerships in our business development. Christopher M. Thomas Retrn Bioworks Inc. FuzeHub is a long-time supporter of our efforts to revolutionize the intermittent catheter market and dramatically improve quality of life and health for people living with urinary retention and neurogenic bladder.

The team at FuzeHub is incredible to work with and has truly made a profound difference in our trajectory at Aurie. I could not recommend working with FuzeHub through the Commercialization Competition or Manufacturing Grant more! Souvik Paul CathBuddy, Inc. / Aurie Without question, the entire team at FuzeHub has been instrumental in helping us bring our product to life.

Without their critical investment, support and advice, there simply would have been no way for us to exist as a company. The help that the FuzeHub team goes far beyond just issuing a grant and has provided us the guidance to better position our start-up for additional funding... I can measure each of their impact on our product development journey.

And as a direct result of their influence, now have a better product that can comprehensively address the pain points of our eventual customers! I can't sing enough praises for FuzeHub. Applying to the Commercialization Competition is the best decision I ever made.

Stephanie Louis SOTRO Innovations Commercialization Competition The Commercialization Competition is held yearly, and the program provides awards of up to $150,000. The Competition is intended to help startup manufacturing and technology companies further develop their prototype, and bring their new product or production method to the marketplace.

Both applicants and awardees report increased investments, new customers, and a stronger “go-to-market” strategy as a consequence of taking part in the Competition. The Manufacturing Grants are designed to encourage collaboration between not-for-profit organizations and small to medium-sized manufacturing companies in New York State. The grants help companies achieve success from early stage, proof of concept through maturity.

The partnership with the not-for-profit organization serves as a pathway to technology transfer, adoption and implementation of new manufacturing processes, and enhanced products and services. The Innovation Challenge goal is to support technology development and deployment in specific manufacturing industries, based on current market needs at the time of the challenge.

The Challenge is an intermittent track, and opportunities are typically developed and launched quickly. Award amounts and number of awardees per round may vary, as well as the requirement to work with a not-for-profit organization or not.

Jeff Lawrence Innovation Fund History The Fund was launched in December 2016 and is named for Jeff Lawrence, a champion of the New York manufacturing and entrepreneurial communities, who passed away in 2015.

During his more than 20 years at the Center for Economic Growth, the Manufacturing Extension Partnership affiliate in the Capital Region where he served as executive vice president, Jeff directed programs of direct assistance to manufacturers and technology companies to increase their competitiveness.

He is remembered for being an invaluable and generous mentor to many in the area’s business community and a tireless advocate for manufacturing innovation throughout New York. Contact the Innovation Fund Team today. Attendee Request Form: 2023 Hardware Prototyping Workshop Thanks for your interest in this resource, fill out the information below to download.

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