Hello startup people! Here’s the latest drop on Grants, Pitch Competitions, Awards, and Summits.

This week’s tip: be concise and compelling. As with Start Garden 100 where founders must submit a 100-second pitch, founders who can clearly explain their problem-solution-product quickly receive the most attention. Pique interest first and save the long convos for the follow up meeting.

VC’s are saying, “Please stop using AI to write pitches.”

~Diane

Fort Worth Business Plan Competition – $20,000 total pool
Texas; All businesses | Jun 13 | Apply

Moonshot Rural Arizona Pitch Competition 2026 – $15,000 total pool
Arizona; All businesses | Jun 18 (first stop) | Apply

Rocket Pro The Big Pitch – $100,000
Prop Tech; Broker Tech | Jun 30 | Apply

Falling Walls Lab Pitch Competition – Pitch to Lab
Mexico; Science and Research | July 3 | Apply

Start Garden 100 – up to $500,000 in funding
Michigan; All businesses | July 12 | Apply

WHIS 2026 Innovation Showcase – Present at event
Women-led; Health Tech; FemTech | July 31 (my guess) | Apply

Marcus Garvey Entrepreneurship Pitch Competition – $30,000 total pool
Barbados; All startups | July 31 | Apply

YBI Shark Tank – $17,500 total pool
Ohio; All businesses | Aug 4 | Apply

Retail Innovation Forum Startup of the Year Competition – Attend invite-only NRF Innovators Showcase
Retail Tech | Aug 21 | Apply

Forest and Nature Tech Pitching Competition 2026 – €5,000 + pitch at Y Science
Nature Tech; Biotech | Sept 11 | Apply

Startupfest $100K Fintech Grant – $100,000
Canada; FinTech | Jun 12 | Apply

Shift Impact Grant – $25,000
Canada; US; Environmental Tech; Clean Energy | July 2 | Apply

SME Fund 2026 - Intellectual Property – Vouchers to reimburse IP-related activities
EU; IP-led companies | July 31 (my guess) | Apply

Subspace Foundation Grants Program – Credits; Funding
AI; dApps; Blockchain; Web3; Defi | July 31 (my guess) | Apply

Road to 2028 LACI Summit Series - Los Angeles – Sessions; Policymakers
CleanTech; Sustainable mobility; Climate Tech | July 14-15 | Apply

Hyundai Innovation Challenge 2026 – Co-Develop with Hyundai
New mobility; EV’s; Autonomous vehicles | Jun 30 | Apply

RoboBusiness 2026 - Call for Speakers – Speak at event
AI; Humanoids; Robotics | July 8 | Apply

2026 Seoul-BMS Innovation Challenge – 40 million won
Korea; Biotech; Healthcare | July 31 | Apply

Build with Gemini XPRIZE – $2,000,000 total prizes
Google Gemini; AI | Aug 17 | Apply

Fast Company’s Next Big Things in Tech – Recognition
All tech; Many categories | Jun 12 | Apply

MedtechWOMEN Ferolyn Powell Leadership Award – Recognition
Women-led; MedTech | Jun 19 | Apply

Moonshot Awards 2026 – $100,000 total pool
AI; Social impact; Health | July 12 | Apply

🤩 These lists get to be pretty long! View the full list - including all 20+ Last Chance Opportunities - by signing up here.

Amcor Lift-Off Rigids Challenge – Present for pilot project, investment
Packaging; AI; Recycling | Jun 8 | Apply

Patriot Pitch Competition – $1,000,000 total pool
US; All businesses | Jun 10 | Apply

Global Citizen Waislitz Awards – $300,000 total pool
Social impact; poverty | Jun 14 | Apply

Beyond the Deal Room curates grants, pitch competitions, awards, and tech summits for 13,000+ founders, VC’s and startup organizations. Over $100M global opportunities, mostly non-dilutive, are available across all verticals each year.

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Disclaimer: I receive no compensation for promoting any of these events. While I try to be as accurate as possible when posting requirements such as deadlines, it’s your responsibility to confirm all requirements.

📣 Who am I? Your biggest cheerleader. Startup operator, accelerator operations leader, and advisor to early-stage founders. Named a Top 100 Women Tech Leader (2024). I help founders tap into non-dilutive funding—grants, competitions, and beyond—to build traction between VC rounds. Connect with me on LinkedIn.