Arch Grants is on a mission to build a new economy in the St. Louis region by attracting and retaining innovative entrepreneurs. Arch Grants is a nonprofit organization that uses philanthropy to directly build high quality, for-profit companies. Arch Grants builds startups in two ways:
Bring Them & Keep Them
The Global Startup Competition represents a worldwide search for early-stage startup companies. Entrepreneurs submit their business plans to Arch Grants, along with a group of evaluators that includes over 400 members of the St. Louis community who assess the business for its innovation, scalability, job creation potential and impact. The applicants vie for $50,000 equity-free cash grants and support services in reciprocation for calling St. Louis home, if they don’t already live here.
Grow Them
In addition to the $50,000 in equity-free funding, recipients receive support services including pro bono legal, accounting and marketing services, personal introductions to benefit the companies, and access to angel investment and venture capital networks.
Overall Impact & Investment
Since 2012, Arch Grants companies have attracted $128 million in follow-on capital, generated over $89 million in revenue and created more than 1,280 jobs in the greater St. Louis area. From 2012-2017, the organization has received over 3,500 applications from 85 countries and 43 states. As of 2017, 114 companies have been funded, 53 percent originated from outside of St. Louis and 13 percent outside of the United States. Ninety-five of the companies remain in business, and 84 percent of those are active in St. Louis.
Friends of Arch Grants
Arch Grants seeks to foster meaningful relationships between Arch Grants entrepreneurs and individuals in the St. Louis community. Friends of Arch Grants are individuals that volunteer their time to welcome Arch Grants recipients to the St. Louis community and provide resources to them through direct interactions, mentorship, social engagement and by opening their networks to support recipient growth through needed introductions into the St. Louis community. Compiled from marketing news releases and company websites.
Compiled from marketing news releases and company websites.