Chattanooga, Tenn. — Tennessee Valley Federal Credit Union opened the 10th Idea Leap Grant Competition for Chattanooga-area and regional small firms, raising the top awards to fifty thousand dollars and committing three hundred thousand dollars across three regions.
The application window ends October 26, 2026, at 5 pm ET. Eligible shops must keep payroll between a two-person minimum and a 25-person cap, stay under a $2.5 million yearly revenue ceiling, and show at least one year in operation. The online form asks five questions covering what the company does, why the owner started it, why the work matters, and community ties.
Kim Gunter, TVFCU’s marketing vice president, said finalists will pitch after the field narrows and that the award arrives with no strings attached. Owners can put the cash toward equipment, space, hiring or whatever they believe will improve the business.
For this anniversary cycle the credit union boosted the ceiling from the prior thirty-thousand-dollar top prize to fifty thousand. Past winners such as Ocoee Riverside Farm used earlier awards to grow staffing from fewer than five workers to more than twenty.
Idea Leap spans 17 counties in the credit union’s footprint, giving Chattanooga employers a direct local path without a national application maze. Owners apply through the Idea Leap Grant page on the TVFCU website.
Gunter said most small firms already know the one upgrade that would help next, and judges want to hear that plan before pitch rounds begin after the October deadline. The credit union markets the contest as a milestone tenth edition aimed at locally owned shops rather than national chains.
Section: More Chattanooga TN business news
