In 2024, the Cobbertunity Fund was established to support student entrepreneurs at Å·ÃÀÊÓƵ. The fund was created with a $75,000 investment from the Student Government Association’s SPIF Fund, and the investment is managed through Concordia’s Scheel Investment Fund. If the investment grows, SGA receives 20% of the determined grant funds to redeposit back into the SPIF Fund, and the remaining grant funds are awarded to Cobber student entrepreneurs on an annual basis. The total amount of grant funding will vary each year and is dependent on the investment earning money. In addition, additional funding sources exist and continue to be identified to supplement the Cobbertunity Fund and our student entrepreneurs through our generous donors.*
The Cobbertunity Fund is intended to support students who need resources to push their entrepreneurial ideas forward. Up to $3,000 will be awarded to dedicated students who present:
The Cobbertunity grants are open to any degree-seeking student at Concordia no matter their discipline. Students can receive funding only once, and funding must be used in a one-year timeframe. Depending on the amount of the grant, the receipt of the grant could result in a taxable event for the student.
To apply, complete the following two items and submit them using this form.
Proposals should address the following questions: What is the name of your venture? Who are you (and, if applicable, your teammates)? What skills/expertise/connections do you have to make your venture successful? Give us your high-level pitch (in a way that we will understand — as if you are telling a friend). What is unique about your venture? What have you done so far? What stage are you in? What areas do you need most help with? How much funding are you requesting? What will you spend the funds on? When will you spend the funds? How do you embody the entrepreneurial spirit? Anything else you would like to share with us?
Create a one-page visual piece for your application that shares the idea for the project and the key significant data/structures of the problem being addressed as well as some of the results you have had with your project.
After the initial application closes, finalists will be selected to move on to a second phase where they will prepare a pitch deck to present to the Grant Awarding Committee. The pitch deck should include the idea for the project, the problem and opportunity, the value proposition, existing competitors, the current status of the project and any existing financials (revenue and expenditures to date), the proposed use of the funds including the budget requested and timeframe for expenditures.
| August-October | Students are notified of the opportunity |
| Nov. 1 | Applications are due |
| November-December | Applications are reviewed |
| January | Finalists are notified |
| January-February | Finalist pitches are completed |
| March | Grantees are notified and grant money is released |
Students who receive grants are required to:
The Grant Awarding Committee for selecting grant recipients of the Cobbertunity Fund will consist of the president and vice president of Concordia’s Entrepreneurship Club, the faculty advisor of Concordia’s Entrepreneurship Club, a representative from SGA, the dean from the Offutt School of Business, a faculty member from outside of the Offutt School of Business, and an alumni representative from the Offutt School of Business.
The Cobbertunity Fund is supported with funds from the Offutt School of Business Entrepreneur Fund as the result of a generous donation from Mike and Christine Doyle. If you are a donor interested in supporting the Cobbertunity Fund, please use the contact information below to engage in the conversation. The more donations made to the fund, the more student entrepreneurs we are able to fund to grow entrepreneurial ideas across campus and in the community.