For EDIP Participants

For EDIP Participants

Who Economic Development Introduction Program (EDIP) Participants are

EDIP Participants are institutional-channel volunteers (people whose institutional role naturally puts them in contact with grant-seeking businesses) who participate in the Economic Development Introduction Program. EDIP is the platform's structured way for institutional-channel professionals to make disclosed introductions ethically, with the appropriate documentation, and without any personal compensation.

If your institutional role brings you into contact with grant-seeking businesses (whether through a small business development center, a chamber of commerce, a workforce board, a community lender network, or a similar institutional channel), EDIP is the platform's way to make ethical, disclosed introductions that benefit the businesses in your channel.

What EDIP Participants do

Through the program, EDIP Participants:

  • Make disclosed introductions through their institutional channel to grant-seeking businesses who may benefit from the platform's certified Strategists.
  • Provide Affidavits of Intent and Institutional Disclosure Letters that establish the disclosure architecture making each introduction ethical and properly documented.
  • Participate in the EDIP Community, the platform's community space for institutional-channel volunteers.

Zero personal compensation

The defining feature of EDIP, and the key differentiator from the Referral Agent role, is that EDIP Participants do not receive personal compensation for introductions made through the program. The Zero Personal Compensation and Air Gap architecture is established in the EDIP Participation Agreement at §6.0, with corresponding zero-compensation disclosure obligations at §18.0. The architecture ensures EDIP introductions remain ethically clean and free of any conflict-of-interest concerns.

The role's payoff comes from impact, not from payment. EDIP Participants see the institutional channels they care about (small business development centers, chambers of commerce, workforce boards, community lender networks, and similar) gain access to platform-certified grant strategy expertise that supports their own institutional missions.

Operative agreement

The EDIP Participation Agreement is the operative framework governing EDIP Participant involvement in the program. The full set of operative agreements across all platform roles is enumerated on the Platform Overview page.

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EDIP participation is institutional-channel volunteering rather than paid referral; compensated referral is handled through the separate Referral Alliance role described on the Referral Alliance page.