Greenlight Innovation Fund
Capital Funding to Support Innovation Industries
In 2023, NYCEDC launched the Greenlight Innovation Fund, an initiative that awards City capital funding to projects led by nonprofits that drive commercial innovation in future-focused sectors, including the life sciences, green economy, fashion, and advanced technology, among others.
Fueled through a competitive procurement process, the Greenlight Innovation Fund will issue multiple awards of at least $3 million per project to support the acquisition of space, construction or renovation of facilities, or purchase of equipment tied to these cutting-edge programs.
This funding initiative plays a crucial role in bolstering the development of New York City’s most innovative industries, which have experienced tremendous growth over the past decade and are expected to grow faster than New York City’s overall economy in the coming years. The Greenlight Innovation Fund prioritizes programs that do one or more of the following:
- Support the development of catalytic new spaces and programming that support life sciences, advanced technology, creative, and green economy sectors
- Create new companies and well-paying jobs for New Yorkers in the innovation industries
- Strengthen and diversify industry workforce and entrepreneurs
Funding Fordham University’s Green Jobs Center
In July 2025, NYCEDC announced Fordham University as the inaugural awardee of the Greenlight Innovation Fund. Through Greenlight, Fordham will receive $3 million to create the Bronx Green Job Center (BGJC), a first-of-its kind collaborative workforce development and entrepreneurship hub that will create an equitable green job pipeline in the heart of the Bronx. Fordham University will use this funding to renovate a university-owned, ~13,000-square-foot space located at 585 East Fordham Road in the Bronx and create the BGJC, which will aim to address multifaceted challenges faced by the Bronx community through a comprehensive suite of programs and services, with a particular emphasis on supporting workforce development initiatives in the green economy.
This award will help us launch the Bronx Green Jobs Center—a collaboration with community partners and a diverse coalition of other prospective partners—to help power the future of New York’s green economy.
The launch of the BGJC will mark a pivotal moment for the Bronx, by providing a fully accessible hub for workforce development and economic opportunities, as well as dynamic space for community development and resource navigation serving over 25,000 community members annually. The BGJC workforce development programs are set to launch in the fall of 2026.
