Asked directly. Answered directly.

Nothing. The sessions are free, the recordings are free, and the grants are grants: not loans, not equity, not services-in-trade. The program is funded by New Era Systems, and partner organizations carry no costs either.

No, and the rule that prevents it is structural: no presenter may pitch anything, ever: not New Era Systems, not guest presenters, not the founder. Sessions teach, the fund enables, and presence is the only marketing anyone gets.

No. The sessions assume you’re busy running a business, not studying machine learning. And the grant application has no AI-readiness questionnaire; you answer four plain questions in your own words. If you have been experimenting already, that can strengthen your application within its priority tier, but it’s never required.

New Era Systems, a Columbus, Ohio AI consultancy, founded the program and seeds the fund at $5,000 a year. It runs the sessions and administers the fund end-to-end under a published selection framework, so partners never inherit workload and applicants always know who is accountable.

Only if you affirmatively say yes. The default is exclusion: you’re asked individually before and after your question, hesitation counts as a no, and you can change your mind any time until the recording publishes (about a week after the session). The informal after-hours conversation is never recorded at all. Full policy.

Every presentation is recorded and posted to the member library, usually within a week. New members inherit the entire archive, so there’s no penalty for joining late.

Whatever the need actually costs. Awards are need-based, not fixed: $400 for a year of subscriptions is a normal ask, and so is $2,500 in API and cloud costs for a real build. The test is whether the budget matches the need, not whether the number is big or small.

No cash is disbursed up front, ever. Subscription awards are paid directly to the vendor for a year. Everything else works on reimbursement: you spend, submit receipts, and get paid back. Details.

It may be. Grant funds can constitute taxable income to your business. The award agreement says this in plain language so nobody is surprised at tax time. Check with your tax professional about your situation.

Intake never pauses. Approved applications join a ranked waitlist and carry forward, across cycles and even into the new year’s pool, until funded or withdrawn. Rollover requires nothing but saying you still want in. Waitlist rules.

You’ll hear a coherent, specific reason; a silent no doesn’t happen here. A decline doesn’t carry forward on the waitlist, but a fresh application is always welcome, and a specific reason gives you something real to build from.

Yes. An existing relationship neither helps nor hurts your application. The only hard exclusions are family members and New Era Systems employees. Eligibility details.

The opposite: you’re in the top size tier. Sole proprietors, freelancers, and single-member LLCs are microbusinesses under Ohio law (fewer than 20 employees starts at zero), and microbusinesses outrank every larger size class in selection priority. Most of the people this fund exists for are running the whole show themselves. Eligibility details.

Yes. Any Ohio business can apply. Priority tiers determine who the fund reaches first when dollars are contested, but nothing about the program is exclusionary. A clear, honest ask is taken seriously wherever it comes from.

One thing: allow the program to be shared with members through the organization’s channels. No budget, no staff hours, no liability, no selection duties. The full picture.

Yes. The pool is deliberately open to additional sponsors, and every added dollar goes to awards since administration is already covered. Start the conversation.