Ventures and Microsoft as a founding partner in March 2021. According to Community Impact Newspaper, the energy, life sciences, and technology-focused firm "has supported The Ion since its inception and has provided programming over the last few years". Aramco Americas also joined as a founding partner. In addition to being a tenant, Capital Factory formed a programming partnership with the Ion in October 2021 to offer events and resources on-site for startups. The Ion's Accelerator Hub includes the Ion Smart and Resilient Cities Accelerator (ISRCA), the Aerospace Innovation Accelerator for Minority Business Enterprises (AIA for MBEs), the Rice Alliance Clean Energy Accelerator, and DivInc Houston. The Ion team established the ISRCA in September 2019 to focus on disaster recovery. Community Impact Newspaper has said the ISRCA "addresses the needs of Houston and cities across America by deploying technology into existing civic infrastructure", and participating startups "have the chance to build relationships with mentors, corporate networks, municipality decision-makers, and stakeholder partners, and gain exposure in the Greater Houston region". The AIA for MBEs supports startups in their development of solutions for aerospace-related challenges, and the Rice Alliance Clean Energy Accelerator focuses on sustainable energy projects. In September 2020, the district received $1.5 million from the Economic Development Administration's Build to Scale program to support the Accelerator Hub's creation. The district received a $1.4 million federal grant from the Minority Business Development Agency in October 2020 to establish an aerospace engineering accelerator in partnership with NASA's Johnson Space Center and DivInc. The ISRCA's third cohort began a 12-week program at the Ion in March 2021. The AIA for MBEs launched in April 2021, with four BIPOC-owned companies selected to participate in the first 12-week program. Community benefits agreement In January 2020, Turner announced that the City of Houston would negotiate a community benefits agreement (CBA) with RMC in response to concerns about community impact raised by individuals representing a variety of organizations largely concentrated in the nearby Third Ward, a neighborhood to the east of the Ion. The Ion's groundbreaking ceremony in July 2019 had also attracted students from Rice, Texas Southern University, the University of Houston and local high schools, who had formed the Student Coalition for a Just and Equitable Innovation Corridor to advocate for community benefits. In January 2020, representatives of 17 student groups wrote a letter to university president Leebron asking RMC to guarantee community benefits to local