City to Re-Launch Providence Design Catalyst Grant Program

City to Re-Launch Providence Design Catalyst Grant Program

The City of Providence announced the re-launch of its Providence Design Catalyst program on Tuesday.

The program is run by DESIGNxRI, an economic development nonprofit for the RI design sector, based in Providence.

“While the City’s design talent continues to thrive, there remains a great need to cultivate and sustain existing creative entities. Support from the Providence Design Catalyst leads to positive business development, jobs, and business growth, pathways for recent graduates to remain in Providence, and establishes a foundational strategy for next-generation business development,” said Lisa Carnevale, Executive Director of DESIGNxRI.

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The program is funded by both the City of Providence, as well as, the Rhode Island Department of Training (Real Jobs RI).

"Design expands our thinking of how innovation drives our economy. We are thrilled that Real Jobs RI can support the next generation of employers through their development of skills necessary to accelerate their growth and continue creating jobs in Rhode Island,” said Scott Jensen, Director of the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training.

The Program in 2019-20

The 2019-2020 Providence Design Catalyst will provide qualifying Providence design businesses with $185,000 in grant funding capital in amounts between $10,000 – $20,000 in addition to business mentorship and development training to catalyze business growth.

Through a competitive, merit-based grant application process, applicants are asked to submit qualifications and experience, business goal(s), expected milestones, success projections and a proposal about how their business growth will benefit the Providence design ecosystem.

Applications will be reviewed by the Design Catalyst steering committee, led by DESIGNxRI and will be accepted starting October 1, 2019, and running through November 4, 2019.

Applications and more information can be found at DESIGNxRI’s website.

Providence Design Catalyst Highlights

The Providence Design Catalyst program began in 2015.

Since then, DESIGNxRI and partners have invested in 39 design businesses.

The program highlights are as follows: 

• $846,000 investment into 39 design businesses
• 31 business mentors engaged from the RI business community
• 69% of participant businesses developed a new product line and/or extended their brand
• 62% of participant businesses extended an existing product line and/or added production capacity with new equipment
• 31% added staff capacity with interns, freelancers, or full-time employment
• All businesses analyzed and re-envisioned their business model and growth capacity, making thoughtful decisions on what was needed foundationally to continue on their growth trajectory.
• Additionally, 21% of participant businesses received additional funding and/or mentoring from outside sources.