The Ohio Third Frontier Commission late last week awarded up to $28.2 million to JumpStart Inc. and 12 others in the Northeast Ohio ESP Network, a group of entrepreneurial support organizations.

The awards cover three years and require matching dollars from non-state public, private and philanthropic supporters in order to access the state resources, according to the PR Newswire report.

“The Ohio Third Frontier has a long track record of helping entrepreneurs get their ideas to the marketplace,” said Aram Nerpouni, president and CEO of BioEnterprise, one of the 13 organizations. “Beyond the direct economic impact, these state resources incentivize engagement and participation from public, private and philanthropic partners by leveraging their funding dollar-for-dollar — essentially doubling the impact of their investment.”

“Economic development professionals from across the U.S. wish their community and state had the benefits of the Ohio Third Frontier,” said Joe Roman, president and CEO of the Greater Cleveland Partnership. “Our ability to leverage Third Frontier monies with other public, private and philanthropic funding is an incredibly powerful tool to grow Greater Cleveland and the state.”

Read the full article at Cleveland.com.