Hub Resource Center
Everything an Accelerate CA Hub needs to prepare, assemble, and submit a nomination — in the order you'll need it.
Administered by CAP Contract Alliance, LLC, Fiscal Agent · All award decisions are made by CalOSBA
This page exists because of one constraint, and everything on it is organized around that constraint.
You can move around within the form during a session, but closing the browser loses everything, and nothing is saved until you press Submit. Work through Sections 1 through 3 below first. Once you have every answer and every file in hand, the form takes about 15 minutes.
Seven requirements. All seven must be met.
Three required, one conditional, one optional.
All 38 questions, drafted offline. The worksheet is an optional prep tool.
Transcribe, upload, submit. About 15 minutes.
CCA, within five business days. You will be contacted directly if anything needs correction.
CalOSBA. Submission does not guarantee an award.
Timeline. Nominations are accepted from the 1st through the 7th of each month; submissions after 11:59 p.m. PT on the 7th are reviewed in the following month. Nominations are reviewed in monthly batches. CCA completes the eligibility and compliance review in the weeks after submission; nominations go to CalOSBA leadership near the end of the month, with decisions typically within about a week. Payments and grant agreements follow after the month closes. If a nominee cannot complete requested corrections — Secretary of State documentation or narrative revisions — within two weeks, the nomination moves to the next monthly batch.
Section 1
Check each item. If any one of them cannot be checked, the nomination cannot proceed — stop here and contact us before you spend time assembling documents.
Tier 1 — proof of concept, initial R&D, prototype, early-stage pre-commercialization. $25,000.00 or $50,000.00.
Tier 2 — continuing or expanding R&D, minimum viable product, pre-commercialization. $75,000.00 or $100,000.00.
Phase II SBIR/STTR awardees are not eligible for Tier 1 awards.
Section 2
Up to five documents: three required, one conditional (only for entities registered before July 1, 2021), and one optional. Collect what applies before you open the form. Documents 1, 2, and 4 use CalOSBA-issued templates — use them as issued and do not reformat them. Each document is uploaded to its own field as a single PDF: do not combine documents into one file, and do not upload more than one file per field.
Tier 1 or Tier 2 template. Include the cover page. Keep the required format: 1" margins, single-spaced, 12 pt Times New Roman, prompts left in place, five pages maximum beginning on page 2. Write for a broad business audience: make the innovation, market need, team capacity, revenue model, and commercialization path easy to identify.
Download Tier 1 Download Tier 2Signed PDF on Hub letterhead. Must state the tier, the requested dollar amount, and the hours or referrals of Hub assistance.
Download templateFormation filings, registration filings for out-of-state entities, and the current Statement of Information. The entity must be Active and in good standing at the time of submission.
Look up an entityRequired only if the business registered with the Secretary of State before July 1, 2021. If it is missing, the nomination is held pending receipt rather than denied — send it as soon as possible.
Download templateOptional. Backup evidence of the required activities — event photos, marketing material, press releases, training records — combined into a single PDF for its one upload field.
See what countsNo banking details, no voided check, no IRS Form W-9. CCA requests the ACH enrollment form and Form W-9 only from businesses CalOSBA approves for award. STD 204 and STD 21 are not required from nominees.
What happens at awardOptional. A nomination is complete without backup documentation.
What counts: event photos, marketing material, press releases, training records, and similar evidence of the required activities.
Format: combine everything into a single PDF and upload it to the one backup field. Do not upload multiple files.
Large files: for files over about 100 MB, or for video, do not upload the media itself. Put a shareable link (SharePoint, Google Drive, or OneDrive) inside a one-page PDF that lists the materials, and upload that PDF.
Section 3
The preparation worksheet is an optional prep tool. It is not a required document and is never submitted. Every question on the online form appears in it, in the same order, so drafting your answers there first and then transcribing is the single most effective way to avoid a returned nomination.
An optional prep tool, never submitted. The full offline worksheet: eligibility pre-check, document checklist, all 38 form questions, and the pre-submission check.
Download WordSame worksheet, formatted for printing and completion by hand.
Download PDFSection 4
One nomination per business. Transcribe your drafted answers, upload each document to its own field, and press Submit. You will receive a confirmation email listing what was submitted, along with a tracking reference — retain it.
The form opens once your checklists are complete. Twelve items remain across Sections 1 and 3. This is a deliberate gate — the form cannot be saved partway through.
Open the nomination formThe form opens in a new tab so this page and your checklists stay where they are.
After a decision
These materials are listed so Hubs and nominees know what is coming. Nothing here is submitted with a nomination. When CalOSBA approves an award, the business receives a notice of intent to award and completes payment enrollment — banking (ACH) details and a Form W-9 — through a secure page.
Banking details for disbursement. Requested by CCA from approved grantees only, never at nomination.
Collected at award. A Form 1099 is issued where required.
Grant agreement, conflict-of-interest form, and media rights form, sent as one envelope for signature. The drug-free workplace certification is a clause inside the agreement.
Go to Grantee Payment Enrollment →
Complete this only after you receive a notice of intent to award with a confirmed award number. The enrollment includes a certification under penalty of perjury under California law (Code of Civil Procedure § 2015.5).
No award shall be made until final approval. Submission of required documents is for consideration and does not guarantee a grant award.
Before you submit
Every item below is a correction we have to send back. Reading this section takes two minutes and saves a week.
For program questions, contact the Fiscal Agent at the dedicated Accelerate California inbox below. Do not send nomination materials by email — everything is submitted through the online form. Add this address to your safe-sender list so replies do not go to spam.