Lehigh Valley LaunchBox receives grant from BB&T Economic Growth Fund

Lehigh Valley LaunchBox (LVLB) received a $50,000 grant from the BB&T Economic Growth Fund of Lehigh Valley Community Foundation. The grant will be used to support programming of LVLB.

LaunchBox is a signature program of the Invent Penn State Initiative, a commonwealth-wide system to spur economic development, job creation, and student career success. Invent Penn State blends entrepreneurship-focused academic programs, business startup training and incubation, funding for commercialization, and University-community collaborations to facilitate the process of turning ideas into viable products and services.

“We are fully engaged in Lehigh Valley LaunchBox at Penn State Lehigh Valley and feel fortunate to be able to contribute to the economic development of the region through it. It’s exciting that BB&T chose the support this endeavor through its fund at the Lehigh Valley Community Foundation,” said Tina Q. Richardson, chancellor, Penn State Lehigh Valley. “We are constantly growing and evolving Lehigh Valley LaunchBox and this funding will help support future programming.”

During the University’s current campaign, “A Greater Penn State for 21st Century Excellence,” Penn State’s 21 innovation hubs across the Commonwealth, including LVLB, have the opportunity to leverage $1 million in University matching funds when their program endowments reach $1 million. This grant from the BB&T Economic Growth Fund brings LVLB closer to this goal. 

In conjunction with the BB&T/National Penn merger, $5 million was donated to two local foundations, Berks County Community Foundation and Lehigh Valley Community Foundation, with each receiving $2.5 million to establish a BB&T Economic Growth Fund.

Previously, BB&T donated a total of $2.452 million through the BB&T Economic Growth Fund of Lehigh Valley Community Foundation. The grant to Lehigh Valley LaunchBox was given during the 2018 phase allocation.

To learn more about the Lehigh Valley Foundation, visit www.lehighvalleyfoundation.org.

A Greater Penn State for 21st Century Excellence" is a focused campaign that seeks to elevate Penn State’s position as a leading public university in a world defined by rapid change and global connections. With the support of alumni and friends, “A Greater Penn State” seeks to fulfill the three key imperatives of a twenty-first-century public university: keeping the doors to higher education open to hardworking students regardless of financial well-being; creating transformative experiences that go beyond the classroom; and impacting the world by fueling discovery, innovation and entrepreneurship. To learn more about “A Greater Penn State for 21st Century Excellence,” visit greaterpennstate.psu.edu.

For more information, visit the Lehigh Valley LaunchBox website, email LVLaunchBox@psu.edu or email Elaine Thode at ezt158@psu.edu.