Item:
Title
Approval of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Nonprofit Grant Program Phase 2 - Small Business Support Grant to Forward Cities, Inc. for $1.5 million
Body
Date of BOCC Meeting: March 25, 2024
Request for Board Action:
Agenda Text
The Board is requested to approve an ARPA Nonprofit Grant Phase 2 - Small Business Support Grant to Forward Cities, Inc. for $1,500,000 in contracted services.
As part of the Board's strategic plan for administering the County's ARPA funding, the Board previously authorized the use of $1,500,000 for the purposes of providing a grant to an organization to develop and implement a comprehensive ecosystem for entrepreneurial support and to provide targeted supports for small businesses that have been negatively impacted by the pandemic.
As the SBA Navigator program and pilot funding ended in November 2023, the Durham County ARPA Grant Award is an opportunity to leverage the SBA's investment in Durham County and build on E3 Durham's momentum. Forward Cities intends to leverage their E3 Durham experience and this funding opportunity to scale the program by transitioning to a community-informed model that will maintain the navigation function at no-cost to entrepreneurs and add:
1. a data-informed and community-designed Ecosystem Strategic Plan;
2. a 'learn to earn' program that incentivizes clients to accumulate entrepreneurial education and network connection 'credits' that they can use to procure subsidized professional services from local Business-to-Business (B2B) service providers;
3. cohort accelerators that address gaps identified by entrepreneur intake forms, which function as a needs assessment;
4. an intentional focus on expanding supports for capital access, certifications and procurement, and;
5. a vibrant physical hub of activity based in a culturally rooted downtown coworking community.
Recognizing the tremendous value of the many dedicated area business support organizations and service providers wh...
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