[tomasien]

This isn't going to help you, but that's what we did locally (in Richmond, VA) for the Lighthouse Labs accelerator - no investment, just mentorship, space, and a demo day. 3 of the companies are growing considerably, but only 2 ended up raising funding - the other was always going to be bootstrapped. It worked out great! Our next class is going to get funding (same amount as YC) for 0% in equity to maintain the integrity of the program, with an option to take more and give up equity. We're really excited about it and I think someone with more prestige should do it nationally.