The Baker-Polito Administration and Massachusetts Growth Capital Corporation (MGCC) announced $3 million in small business technical assistance grants to 47 non-profit organizations across the state.
The state-funded Small Business Technical Assistance Grant Program, administered by MGCC, aims to expand economic and entrepreneurial opportunities in underserved communities throughout the Commonwealth.
The grants range from $20,000 to $175,000 and enable nonprofit organizations to provide crucial services such as individualized business management assistance, financial training, access to capital and loan packaging services to under-resourced small businesses in urban and rural communities. The grant recipients include community development corporations, micro lenders and chambers of commerce that are committed to helping small business flourish and improving the local economies of the Commonwealth.
Governor Charlie Baker said, “These local investments create a big impact in communities across the Commonwealth. Non-profit organizations strengthen their region’s small businesses, which drive local jobs and the Small Business Technical Assistance Grant Program is critical to the economic and entrepreneurial growth throughout our state.”
Lt. Governor Karyn Polito and Housing and Economic Development Secretary Mike Kennealy joined more than 50 small business owners, non-profit organizations, business development leaders and local elected officials in Harwich to announce the grants. The event took place at Brax Landing Restaurant, a small business that has been a staple on Cape Cod for decades.
The restaurant is a client of Coastal Community Capital, a program grantee, and also received financial assistance from the 2019 Cape Cod Small Business Emergency Loan Fund. The administration created a $1 million emergency loan fund, capitalized and administered by MGCC, to bolster recovery efforts for local businesses impacted by tornados last summer.
Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito said, “Since 2015, over 14,000 jobs across more than 10,000 small businesses have been created or preserved as a result of the Small Business Technical Assistance Grant Program. We are pleased to award the largest round of SBTAGP funding of our administration to support the small businesses that are the backbone of our downtowns and to build stronger, more vibrant communities.”
Housing and Economic Development Secretary Mike Kennealy said, “During the series of regional engagement sessions this year, we heard from the business community about needs around access to affordable capital, space, technical assistance, and other resources. Their input was extremely valuable in drafting a new economic development strategy for the Commonwealth and our administration will continue to increase outreach to small businesses and entrepreneurs in order to understand their needs and address their challenges.”
Larry Andrews, President and CEO of MGCC said, “This program leverages the existing array of successful regional economic development organizations by investing funds into what we know is already working. These grants empower technical assistance providers to strengthen the economic vitality of their communities and access resources for their local small businesses. Their outreach is consistent with the priorities of the Baker-Polito Administration’s Partnership for Growth: A plan to enable the Commonwealth’s regions to build, connect and lead.”
About Massachusetts Growth Capital Corporation (MGCC):
MGCC works to create and preserve jobs at Massachusetts small businesses, women and minority owned businesses, and promotes economic development in underserved, Gateway Cities and low and moderate income communities. MGCC is a central state resource that offers working capital, loan guarantees, and targeted technical assistance to solve specific financial and operational problems for local businesses. MGCC works with traditional financial institutions to make challenging loans bankable, working with community development corporations and other non-profits to provide financing for job-producing projects and assisting a wide range of small businesses find the growth capital they require. Since inception, MGCC has assisted more than 7,400 companies with over 19,200 employees with customized working capital financing commitments totaling over $122,000,000.