The U.S. Manufacturing Innovation Fund, a collaboration among Walmart, the Walmart Foundation, and the United States Conference of Mayors, is dedicated to supporting the development of U.S. manufacturing, with the specific goal of making it more feasible and competitive to make consumer goods in the U.S. Over the five years of this initiative, the U.S. Manufacturing Innovation Fund will award approximately $10M to applied research projects undertaken by 501(c)(3) institutions and public universities to address U.S. manufacturing challenges. $4M was awarded last year alone.

During this second cycle, the U.S. Manufacturing Innovation Fund will prioritize innovation in manufacturing processes for textiles manufacturing (including weaving, fabric dyeing, and cut-and-sew). Submissions of letters of intent to the U.S. Manufacturing Innovation Fund are due by August 24, 2015.

More information can also be found on this web page: http://corporate.walmart.com/InnovationFund2015.