Green Leap

 

Green Leap is a product development program from Monmade, designed to foster sustainable products for the built environment.

Monmade believes artists, designers, craftspeople, makers, and manufacturers (producers) can positively impact regional economies, the environment, and social well-being. To support our producers’ business growth and resilience, we foster green products to become a leader in sustainable design.

Green Leap guides selected participants of all experience levels through the research, design, and launch stages of developing market-driven, sustainable products that can be specified in development projects.

Monmade seeks applicants interested in standardizing products and adopting sustainable business practices. Applicants do not currently have to be a Monmade producer to apply. Still, they should have an established legal business entity (e.g., LLC) or partner with a production/manufacturing business that does. See Participant Qualifications and Responsibilities for more information.

Applications are currently closed. Check back again for future opportunities + updates on this program!

Program Overview

Over five months, participants will develop sustainable, market-driven products ready to be specified in development projects and represented in Monmade’s online catalog.

Selected participants will attend an introduction and 3 group sessions to connect with sustainability, product design, marketing, and industry experts. Participants will learn how their products can add value to development projects, fill market needs, be holistically sustainable, and leverage this information as a foundation for their business’s growth.

In addition to group sessions, participants will attend multiple one-on-one sessions with Monmade experts. On their own time, participants will complete commercialization, sustainability, and marketing worksheets to help inform the research and development of their products.

After the program, each participant is expected to create a physical product with an accompanying tear sheet and updated marketing assets highlighting their sustainability efforts. Monmade will facilitate professional product photography, representation of the product in our online catalog, and an industry launch event to support product development. Additionally, pending funding, all participants will be eligible to request up to $2,000 in grant assistance to apply toward developing their product or implementing sustainable business practices.

 

We strongly encourage applications from:

  • Minority, women, and/or veteran-owned businesses
  • Non-profit organizations

Products can be:

  • New ideas
  • Already in progress
  • Existing, to enhance sustainability

Timeline

Wed., January 12, 2022 Applications Open
Fri., January 28, 2022 Applications Due
Fri., February 4, 2022 Participants Selected
Mid February 2022* Participant Info Session
Early March 2022* Group Session 1
Early April 2022* Group Session 2
Mid May 2022* Group Session 3
Late June 2022* Products Complete
October 2022* Product Launch Event

*Exact dates are to be determined and will be based on the participant group’s availability.

Participant Qualifications & Responsibilities

Must be in western Pennsylvania, northern West Virginia, or eastern Ohio and have an application submitted by Friday, January 28, 2022, at 11:59 PM (EST).

Must be able to accept grant funding and product orders through a legal business entity or partner with an established, insured manufacturer (e.g. LLC, S-Corp, B-Corp). If the participant does not have a legal business entity, either they acknowledge that they are willing to consider establishing a legal business entity (except for sole proprietorship) and carrying product liability insurance (with Monmade listed as additionally insured) or if the participant (e.g. fine artist, product designer) does not have the capacity to produce a product and/or process product orders, they may apply with the intention of partnering with a supporting manufacturer (Monmade can help facilitate connections to supporting manufacturers as needed).

Must be willing to apply any grant money received for business use and either toward creating the product or implementing sustainable business practices because of this program.

Must be committed to attending all group sessions, all one-on-one sessions, completing worksheets, publicly promoting their commitment to sustainability, and actively working to develop and build a new or existing product to showcase at an industry launch event at the conclusion of this program.

Must be willing to review and complete onboarding procedures as typically required by Monmade, including Monmade’s Produce Agreement, business and sustainability assessments as needed, and product agreement(s) with Monmade. Sample agreements are available upon request; contact katie@monmade.org for more information.

Participants will be selected based on business qualifications and specializations that help to fill current market needs as defined by Monmade. Priority will be given to applicants working in low- or moderate-income (LMI) areas and/or minority, women, and/or veteran-owned businesses.

Design Rights & Ownership

Monmade does not take an ownership interest in the products developed because of this program. We will invite participants to include their products in our catalog once completed. Participants maintain the right to promote and sell their products through any means otherwise.

Participants will allow their name(s), images, and product information to be used for marketing and promotional purposes by Monmade, Bridgeway Capital, and their other affiliated programs.

Questions?

Please contact katie@monmade.org for any questions regarding this program or the application process.

Applications to this program are currently closed. Please inquire about future programming and product development opportunities.