PROVIDENCE – The Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce and the City of Providence today teamed up to award $150,000 in grants to 11 local organizations and entrepreneurs. The Chamber provided $99,500 in funding, while the other $50,000 came from Providence and the city-affiliated nonprofit Providence Economic Development Partnership (PEDP).

Chamber and city leaders gathered at the AS220 Providence Fab Lab, 115 Empire St. – for a Fab Lab demo and this morning’s presentation – included Mayor David N. Cicilline; Chamber President Laurie White; and Edward J. Cooney, vice president and treasurer of Providence-based Nortek Inc. and chairman of the Chamber board of directors.

“The City of Providence is proud to support this effort, which will serve to nurture and support individuals from our institutions of higher education, private and public sectors,” Cicilline said in a statement. “These grants are among a larger strategy underway by the City, the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce and others that take the ideas of entrepreneurs and bring them to life.”

The grants, and the proposals funded, were:

• $20,000 for The Providence Fab Lab, accepted by AS220’s founder and artistic director, Umberto Crenca. The center is one of 30 public technology workshops established worldwide, in cooperation with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), to help provide access to computer design technology for new products and inventions.

• $20,000 for the Beta Spring Micro Seed Venture, accepted by Aptus Collaborative founding partner Allan Tear. The micro-seed and mentoring program, slated to launch by this summer, aims to help technology and design entrepreneurs ages 20 to 26 “who are ready to build a product, launch a company and change the world.” It currently is seeking investors to take a small equity stake in new companies.

• $20,000 for Sustainable Seafood, accepted by Johnson & Wales University President Irving Schneider. JWU and the University of Rhode Island (URI) aim “to become knowledge leaders in the area of seafood sustainability,” from the fishing industry to the table. They will begin by developing a plan for joint research, education and outreach activities.

• $18,000 for an Online Student Portal, accepted by Tech Collective’s executive director, Kathie Shields, to “help launch a Talent Development Portal to connect students, parents, teachers, guidance counselors, colleges and business.” The new site, combining facets of Facebook and Monster.com, is intended to help secure student internships and grow into a one-stop tool for recruitment and work force development.

• $16,000 for a Virtual Green Resources Center, accepted by Connie McGreavy, founder and chair of the U.S. Green Building Council’s new Rhode Island Chapter. The grant will support the USGBC’s development of a Web site featuring Rhode Island green-collar jobs, products, systems and services; energy efficiency information; technology innovation case studies; and a calendar of green events.

• $15,500 for a Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship, accepted by Brendan McNally, special assistant to the vice president for planning at Brown University, to “create a physical space for entrepreneurial programming, networking and services” to help commercialize research and technology developed at local colleges and universities and, ultimately, help create new businesses.

• $15,000 for a Rhode Island Innovation Network and Business Development Program, accepted by Leslie Taito, CEO and lean office specialist at the R.I. Manufacturers Extension Service. “With this award,” she said, “we can connect the innovation network to new and existing businesses and help create partnerships that will enable new and/or modified products to find their way into the marketplace.”

RIMES, the R.I. Science and Technology Advisory Council (STAC) and the R.I. Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at JWU plan a pilot “matchmaking” program to help take ideas from concept to commercialization. The pilot project is expected to host kickoff and matchmaking events; develop a feeder program for the SBDC’s Innovation Mondays; and create a sustainable network linking inventors, entrepreneurs, research labs, manufacturers and potential investors.

• $10,000 to expand the green-collar work force, accepted by Brad Hyson, executive director of the Apeiron Institute for Sustainable Living. The institute aims to develop a work force development curriculum and implementation model for expanding learning opportunities for green-collar jobs, including careers in plumbing, electrical and energy efficiency.

• $10,000 for a Knowledge Retention Symposium, accepted by Providence College’s Ed Caron, the PC vice president of college relations and planning. The symposium – a collaborative effort of the Greater Providence Chamber, the Association of Independent Colleges & Universities of Rhode Island (AICU-RI), the R.I. Department of Labor & Training, the R.I. Board of Governors for Higher Education and the Tech Collective – is intended to bring together those interested in student “capture” and retention to begin looking for ways to keep college graduates in Rhode Island. (This project also has received funding from the R.I. Governor’s Workforce Board.)

• $2,500 for a Biofuels Summit, accepted by Wendy A. Lucht, a URI cooperative extension research associate and the URI Energy Center’s Ocean State Clean Cities coordinator. The proposal – by applicants including the URI Energy Center and Ocean State Clean Cities – seeks funding for a symposium to be held at URI in late May to suggest public policy changes that would “level the playing field” between biofuel producers and distributors in Rhode Island and those elsewhere; boost awareness among potential producers of biofuel feedstocks; and showcase the efforts of the local research and academic community.

• $2,500 for a Green Economy Session at Business Expo2009, accepted by URI’s Bradley S. Moran, assistant vice president of research administration in the office of research and economic development. Besides the grant, the Chamber will provide free space at the Expo for this session showcasing biofuels and other green opportunities in the local knowledge economy.

Recipients were selected by the Innovation Providence Implementation Council (IPIC) from a pool of 21 proposals. The panel is chaired by Constance A. Howes, president and CEO of Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island and a member of the R.I. Commodores. Serving as vice chairs are William F. Hatfield, market president for Bank of America-Rhode Island and chair of the United Way of Rhode Island’s Resource Development Committee; and Richard R. Spies, executive vice president for planning at Brown University, senior adviser to the college president and chairman of the board at the Providence Plan.

“Many of today’s grant recipients are the direct result of the work that the Chamber, the city and local institutions and foundations have done in the last nine months to identify areas of opportunity in the local economy,” Howes said. “The IPIC was impressed with the depth and breadth of proposals we received and look forward to continue working with today’s recipients over the next several months to ensure their success.”

The awards were part of the ongoing Innovation Providence initiative and statewide “knowledge economy” effort that are seeking to leverage “the tremendous wealth of talent in and around the city … to create jobs and grow the economy,” the Greater Providence Chamber said.

“Today, we are taking the next important step in accelerating the local knowledge economy, by investing in the people and ideas that will drive our economy in the coming days, months and years,” added Cooney, the Chamber chairman and Nortek VP and treasurer. “Not only are we recognizing a tremendous wealth of talent, but we are continuing to build a strong foundation from which to commercialize and grow the entrepreneurial spirit … in Providence and across Rhode Island.”

The Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce aims to foster a healthy business climate throughout Rhode Island through public policies, economic development and business-to-business relationships. Based in downtown Providence, it has more than 2,300 member businesses across the state. To learn more, visit www.ProvidenceChamber.com. News and information from the City of Providence are available at www.ProvidenceRI.com.