State Matching Funds for Federal Innovation and Research Grants

State Matching Funds for Federal Innovation and Research Grants is sponsored by State of Tennessee. This program supplies state matching funds to help Tennessee universities successfully compete for major federal innovation and research grants.

The Federal Innovation Grant Matching Fund was created by the General Assembly of the State of Tennessee, and the funding was appropriated to the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development (TNECD) in the Fiscal Year 2026 Budget. The fund is tasked with supporting applications for federal innovation grants by providing matching funds to make those applications more competitive. Click here to apply.

Criteria for Project Eligibility To qualify for matching funds, projects must meet the following baseline requirements: Applicants must be requesting more than $1 million in federal funding and be able to demonstrate a need for more than $1 million in state matching funds; Applicants must be applying to sponsored grant programs organized by the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Economic Development Administration, or the National Science Foundation; Applications must be in the nuclear energy, mobility, life science, or advanced computing sectors (eligible sectors may be updated periodically by TNECD leadership in alignment with state and federal priorities).

Note: To be eligible for this state match fund, applicants must apply prior to submission of the federal grant application. If approved, TNECD will provide a letter of support stating the availability of match funds if the federal application is ultimately funded by the applicable federal entity.

If a federal application is successful, TNECD will then make an official award from the state match fund and move to the grant contracting phase. Criteria for Applicant/Grantee Eligibility The only entities eligible to apply for this state grant program are universities (public or private) located within the State of Tennessee.

Universities are permitted to submit proposals that detail partnerships with for-profit and/or non-profit businesses so long as those entities have a physical presence (i.e., office/facility) in Tennessee. However, proposed partners must be prepared to demonstrate good standing with the Tennessee Department of Revenue and the Tennessee Secretary of State.

Once an application for state funds has been received, TNECD’s Office of Innovation will evaluate it to ensure all criteria are met for funding and then final approval will be determined by the leadership of TNECD in consultation with the Governor’s Office. General Letters of Support The TNECD Office of Innovation staff will also provide general letters of support for applications to other federal grant programs.

These letters will not provide funding commitments, but can provide in-kind support, depending on the specific request, as well as other non-funding-related support. Each request for a letter of support will be evaluated for approval by the TNECD Office of Innovation. If you are interested in applying for the program, please click here .

If you are interested in a general letter of support, please email Braden. Stover@tn. gov .