Grand Rapids, MI

START GARDEN LLC

EIN 81-1987459

Community & Economic Development Small Business & Entrepreneurship Women & girls Communities of color Low-income

Mission

Start Garden builds entrepreneurial culture in West Michigan by providing early-stage capital, mentorship, workspace and programming that expand access to startup resources and support underrepresented founders.

IRS-recognized 501(c)(3) public charity Contributions are tax-deductible

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About START GARDEN LLC

Start Garden is a donor-facing nonprofit and community accelerator based in downtown Grand Rapids that helps early-stage entrepreneurs turn ideas into sustainable businesses. The organization combines small cash awards, in-person programming (5×5 Night, The 100, Demo Day) and longer-form accelerator partnerships to provide financial, intellectual and social capital to founders across West Michigan. In recent years Start Garden has expanded its grantmaking and operating budget: its FY2024 filings report $4,456,215 in revenue (with $3,548,537 in contributions) and active grantmaking to dozens of local small businesses. Start Garden also holds public-sector contracts and neighborhood-facing programs (including management of the Grand Rapids SmartZone and participation in regional accelerator partnerships) and continues to prioritize access for women, people of color and lower-income entrepreneurs.

Notable achievements

Active small-business grantmaker

Operates recurring programs (5×5 Night, The 100 and Demo Day) that deliver seed grants and support to early-stage founders; filings and program reports show dozens of grants and hundreds of small awards distributed across 2020–2024 (68 grants identified in 2020–2024 reporting).

Manages local innovation infrastructure

Holds contracts to operate the Grand Rapids SmartZone and maintains an accessible downtown startup space that hosts cohorts, workshops and community pop-ups.

Secured major philanthropic support

Received multi-year funding from regional and national funders (including multi-hundred-thousand dollar grants from major foundations) to scale programming and targeted entrepreneurship investments in underserved communities.

At a glance

Total assets: $2.2M
Annual revenue: $4.5M
Tax status: 501(c)(3)Public charity
EIN: 81-1987459
Location: Grand Rapids, MI
Website: startgarden.com
On Mahalo since: September 2026

Financial figures from the IRS Business Master File, the IRS’s registry of tax-exempt organizations.

Recognition

Recognized as a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) public charity (tax-exempt since 2017) with public Form 990 filings available.

Maintains profiles on major nonprofit data platforms and funder databases and is listed in charity/990 aggregators used by donors and foundations.

Named partner and collaborator on regional accelerator initiatives and civic economic-development efforts, including recent accelerator partnerships with higher-education and regional partners.

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