Past Recipients
Past Acorn Fund Recipients
Every year, the Acorn Fund and Micro-Grants put real money behind Elon students building something real, a business, an app, a community project, an idea that started as a side hustle. Here’s a look at some of what SGA has helped get off the ground so far.
What’s on This Page
- Acorn Fund — past recipients of the flagship, up to $5,000 grant
- Micro-Grants — past recipients of the smaller, rolling-basis grant
Acorn Fund
| Recipient(s) | Project | What They’re Doing |
|---|---|---|
| Nathaniel Mills | Crossroads Vintage | Vintage clothing resale for college students, with pop-ups across the Carolinas and over 1,000 items sold. |
| Emily Ecker | Community Garden | A gardening, cooking, and nutrition program for Morrowtown families in Burlington, built with the Morrowtown Community Group and Elon’s School of Education. |
| Ashton Franiak & Joshua Trubinsky | Project Insight | A 3D-printed model rocket that lands itself using onboard avionics and thrust vector control. |
| Bernardo Vargas Lopez & Juan Daniel Chiriboga | YAPA Global Corp | A wellness energy drink built around guayusa, with proceeds supporting the Ecuadorian communities that harvest it. |
Micro-Grants
| Recipient(s) | Project | What They’re Doing |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 Periclean Scholars: Lillian Argabrite, Kate Neal, Allie Schuldt, Madeline Mitchner, Mallory Otten, Sky Covino, Fatmata Bah, Diana Jimenez-Carreno, Anya Bratic & Emily Ecker | Frame Your Future | A life design workshop for local high school girls, built with the Women’s Resource Center of Alamance County. |
| Lila Hoffman-Byer | LilaRuby | Handmade jewelry, with proceeds from its debut collection going to Heart Camp, a program for kids with heart conditions. |
| Nailah Ware | N Major | Website security, hosting, and domain protection for her trademarked music brand, plus its first run of merchandise. |
| Delanie Rourke | Ceramics | Handmade pottery, from mugs to vases, moving from College Coffee sales to an online storefront. |
| Nic Fillippa | KickBack Ginger Beer | A craft, non-alcoholic ginger beer inspired by a study abroad trip to Australia. |
| Ben Patterson & Arthur Shea | Lumicraft | Professional portfolio websites that help Elon students stand out when applying for internships and jobs. |
| Remy Beckman | Star Self Ink | Screen printed shirts, stickers, and buttons. |
Got an idea of your own?
This could be you next.