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In addition to child and general health-focused projects/companies, ventures with demonstrable social impact are able to apply to our Social Impact Fund, regardless of industry vertical. In the future, we plan to extend our investment platform to include more specialized areas like energy and agriculture. Check back often as we update our program.

UCalgary spin-out companies and community startups often face a daunting challenge when raising capital. Attracting small investments from “friends and families,” or contributions from government, are usually the first step. Once those sources are exhausted, and more significant amounts of growth capital are required, entrepreneurs can often hit a brick wall. UCeed funding helps bridge the gap between early-stage investment (friends and family or grants) and angel or capital investment while participating in business development programming to become investor-ready, quicker. UCeed will provide recipients with up to $300K of investment.

Yes. Each UCeed investee company will be paired with at least one mentor to provide advice and coaching, monitor milestones, and ensure that proper governance mechanisms are in place to maximize success. The program is designed to create investor-ready companies that are attractive to groups, including Creative Destruction Lab – Rockies (CDL-R), angel investors, significant granting agents, and venture capital firms.

UCalgary has an inventor-owned IP policy, meaning that UCalgary ‘creators’ own their inventions, but inventors must enter into a Revenue Sharing Agreement with UCalgary or Innovate Calgary when they are at the point of commercializing. IP can be assigned to a spinout company in the most efficient and cost-effective manner with no encumbrances or special terms that would be considered detrimental to attracting capital from future sophisticated investors.

Innovate Calgary is responsible for the management and operation of the UCeed Fund. The Investment Advisory Group, supported by the Innovate Calgary Management team, will recommend and make investment decisions on a quarterly basis. Funding is awarded competitively, based on a selection process conducted quarterly. Applications must be submitted by the deadlines to be guaranteed for funding consideration in the respective quarter.

UCeed will not request a Board seat as a condition of investment, but may request an observer status. However, if Innovate Calgary feels that the investee may benefit from a governance structure, then it may recommend that an independent director join the investee’s Board as a condition of investment.

Yes. For example, if the first-round application was not successful, you can apply for investment in the next quarter. We recognize that in some cases, your company/project may not have been at the right stage of development the first time you applied. Applications must be submitted by the deadlines to be guaranteed for funding consideration in the respective quarter.

No. You do not need full-time staff in place before you apply. Should your company receive an investment offer from UCeed, we will propose a reasonable transition period to allow the company enough time to hire its T4 employee(s).  

Unsecured convertible notes, or deferred equity securities. It is often difficult to value companies that are very early in their development. Convertible notes or deferred equity securities help defer the valuation question until the investee can attract a sophisticated investor who is most likely in a better position to assess value.

One of the primary objectives of UCeed is to accelerate the development of technology. To do this effectively, we believe that your company will require a minimum number of dedicated, full-time personnel whose focus is on developing the company and its associated technology.

No. Your company does not need to be incorporated in order to apply. However, UCeed only invests in companies so incorporation is required prior to the transfer of investment funds.

No. For confidentiality, additional documents cannot be uploaded; however, you can list other documents that you believe support your application in the Additional Information section for the review committee's consideration. To enforce concise submissions at the initial stage, character limits have been set to 500 words.

With the generous support of our contributors, we plan to make 10-12 investments every year in Child and General Health for five years. The applicability and quality of the applications will determine the actual number of investments will be determined by the applicability and quality of applications in each of the fund categories, and UCeed's ability to secure additional contributions.  

No. You do not need a Revenue Share Agreement (RSA) in place before you apply. However, should your company receive an investment offer from UCeed, one of the conditions will be that an RSA, if applicable, has been executed before UCeed advances funds.

UCeed Haskayne Student Fund is a real-dollar fund managed by and for students over the course of a two-year commitment. Students will co-invest in start-up companies alongside experienced angel and seed fund investors. Professional oversight and coaching will be provided by Innovate Calgary’s UCeed Fund Program and Creative Destruction Lab-Rockies.

Graduate and undergraduate students with two years left in their studies. Students across all faculties with comparable backgrounds may be considered. We look for a broad range of applicants with an emphasis on interest, work ethic and diversity of experiences and background.

There are about 5-7 associate positions available each year. Associates, support and present ideas to Fund Managers through weekly student/faculty meetings. They also conduct due diligence reviews and background work related to the investment opportunities.

There are about 5-7 associate positions available each year. Associates, support and present ideas to Fund Managers through weekly student/faculty meetings. They also conduct due diligence reviews and background work related to the investment opportunities.

Following due diligence, the students prepare an investment memo and presentation which are given to the Fund's Investment Advisory Group. The Investment Advisory Group, supported by the Innovate Calgary Management team, will either approve the investment or make recommendations to seek out additional information before proceeding with a decision. 

The UCeed Haskayne Student Fund can make up to four investments each year.

No. The students are welcome and encouraged to explore investment opportunities around the world. Their first investment was a company based out of Ontario while their second was a local startup.

Students are welcome and encouraged to explore investment opportunities across different industries and sectors to identify the most promising investment opportunities. 

Investment range in size from $25k to $100k.

Unsecured convertible notes or deferred equity securities in the case of for-profit companies, and low interest loans in the case of non-profit organizations. Convertible notes or deferred equity securities help defer the valuation question until the investee can attract a sophisticated investor who is most likely in a better position to assess value. Loans are preferable for non-profits, since by law equity investment is unavailable to non-profits.

The timeline is normally about three (3) months from the application deadline to finalization of investment.  Applicants will be notified within about two (2) weeks after submitting their application whether their company will be shortlisted and taken into due diligence.

The timeline is normally about three (3) months from the application deadline to finalization of investment.  Applicants will be notified within about two (2) weeks after submitting their application whether their company will be shortlisted and taken into due diligence.

The investor is Innovate Calgary. The fund donor is activated through the generosity of numerous donors including the United Way of Calgary and Area and Government of Alberta.

The initial assessment committee is comprised of senior Innovate Calgary staff. The Board, or Investor Advisory Group, which confirms the final investee companies, is comprised of leading impact investors and entrepreneurs. 

The initial assessment committee is comprised of senior Innovate Calgary staff. The Board, or Investor Advisory Group, which confirms the final investee companies, is comprised of leading impact investors and entrepreneurs.

A record of supporting publications helps to de-risk some investments (especially deep science), but is not relevant for others as a metric for success; e.g. in some cases trade secrets are optimal and publication weakens defensibility.  We aim to assess your enterprise holistically and appropriately.

A record of supporting publications helps to de-risk some investments (especially deep science), but is not relevant for others as a metric for success; e.g. in some cases trade secrets are optimal and publication weakens defensibility.  We aim to assess your enterprise holistically and appropriately.

You do not need to have an active affiliation with UCalgary to apply for UCeed funding.  The following eligibility criteria applies to the Social Impact Fund:

1. Have an active connection to UCalgary in the form of co-founder that is either a current student, faculty or staff member; or 
2. Be engaged in meaningful research collaboration with UCalgary, e.g. through testing or licensing intellectual property with a UCalgary-based primary investigator (PI); or 
3. If your venture has no active connection or meaningful collaboration with UCalgary, eligibility also applies more broadly to companies incorporated in Alberta with Calgary-based operations and social impact.  
4. Applicants must also be incorporated prior to receiving funds, and have one (1) full-time employee (FTE) within 6-months of investment.  Ineligible organizations include sole proprietorship or partnership.

You do not necessarily have to be headquartered in Calgary. If your operations and social impact are demonstrable in Alberta, then you would be eligible. Organizations looking to expand to Alberta may consider applying to UCeed Social Impact to expand their impact or operations to the province.

We are not a grant program. UCeed Social Impact is an impact investing fund that offers loans or equity-investments to social enterprises. We consider a wide range of incorporation structures, including non-profit, for profit, and cooperatives.  As a non-profit you are not eligible to receive equity investment (due to the legal nature of your organization) and would instead be applying for a loan (i.e. debt) on founder-friendly terms.  UCeed is a primarily pre-seed and seed stage investment program, and the typical investment vehicle is a convertible security (e.g. SAFE Note); but in order to support non-profits, the new Social Impact Fund will also be offering loans.

Yes. UCeed Social Impact invests in non-profits who are pursing revenue generating activities to grow or deepen their social impact via loans (on favorable terms). In order to be eligible, you must consider how your activities will enable you to repay the loan. 

No, UCeed Social Impact is primarily an impact investment fund and does not disburse grant money. The UCeed Social Impact Fund aims to invest in entities using market approaches to solve social problems.  In the case of for-profit companies, we make equity investments in the form of a convertible security (e.g. SAFE Note). As equity investment is not possible in not-for-profits, we also offer loans on favorable terms to charitable organizations. Questions related to making money help determine the sustainability of charitable organizations, as well as the profitability of start-up companies.

The UCeed Social Impact Fund is a pre-seed and seed stage investment fund to support start-up ventures with demonstrable social impact. Eligible applicants must:

1. Have an active connection to the university in the form of co-founder that is either a current student, faculty or staff member; or 
2. Be engaged in meaningful research collaboration with UCalgary, e.g. through testing or licensing intellectual property with a UCalgary-based primary investigator (PI); or 
3. If your venture has no active connection or meaningful collaboration with UCalgary, eligibility also applies more broadly to companies incorporated in Alberta with Calgary-based operations and social impact.  
4. Applicants must also be incorporated prior to receiving funds, and have one (1) full-time employee (FTE) within 6-months of investment. Ineligible organizations include sole proprietorship or partnership.

Will conduct a minimum of 3 intakes per year with up to 1 intake per quarter. The exact deadline can be found on our website: /uceed/social-impact

You can submit an application without being incorporated, but must be incorporated prior to receiving funds. The process from the submission of application to the finalization of investment normally takes about three (3) months, with some flexibility regarding the accomplishment of defined milestones.   

In general, we practice outcome based investing, which involves tying investment to key activities that will accelerate your company’s development, thereby reducing risk and creating value. So we’re interested to learn what you want to do with the money and why it would be a wise investment in your company’s development.

We aim to finalize investments within a 3-4 month period (i.e. resulting in the full dispersal of funds), which may vary depending on individual companies and the respective due diligence processes.  

We have no strict limits in terms of the technology readiness level (TRL). We aim to invest at the pre-seed and seed stage of company development, and depending on a company’s industry vertical, this may be associated with varying TRLs. It is a competitive process.

The UCeed program is made possible by the generosity of the United Way of Calgary and Area, Government of Alberta and UCalgary. The UCeed Social Impact Fund accelerates socially-purposed organizations using enterprising models to reach mission-critical milestones. These may include their next round of financing or attraction of management and resources to build value in the companies, and community. As an early-stage investment fund, UCeed uses outcome-based investment with funding to accomplish defined milestones.

UCeed Social Impact is not a granting program therefore we consider a full range of activities and expenses which drive business and impact outcomes. Typical expenses may include hiring new staff, expanding operations, launching a new product, program or service, building and implementing an impact measurement strategy.