Entrepreneurship Initiative Approved Projects: North Carolina
PROJECT: Biotechnology Coordinator for WNC
GRANTEE: AdvantageWest NC
Purpose: To implement a biotechnology initiative that would diversify the eonomy of Western North Carolina.
Funding:
| ARC: |
$100,000 |
| Other Federal: |
$0 |
| State: |
$144,375 |
| Local: |
$332,624 |
| Total: |
$576,999 |
Description: The grantee will implement a biotechnology initiative which includes: the refurbishing of a facility to be used as a biotechnology incubator, the coordination of degree-granting institutions as they attempt to meet the future needs of biotech employers, and weaving support for and consideration of the biotechnology sector into the overall economic development strategies of communities across the 23-county area. Projected outcomes include the creation of 50 new jobs.
PROJECT: Blue Ridge Entrepreneurship Initiative
GRANTEE: AdvantageWest NC Regional Economic Development Commission
Purpose: To provide support to entrepreneurs in Western North Carolina.
Funding:
| ARC: |
$100,000 |
| Other Federal: |
$0 |
| State: |
$0 |
| Local: |
$115,660 |
| Total: |
$215,660 |
Description: The grantee will expand an existing program providing support to entrepreneurs in the Asheville area to all of Western North Carolina. Support will be provided to the Blue Ridge Entrepreneurial Council and the Blue Ridge Angel Investor Network. Additionally, staff will oversee an assessment of the capital needs of entrepreneurs in the region, which will potentially result in the formation of a regional investment fund (the Blue Ridge Investment Corporation). The grantee anticipates:13 entrepreneurial events will be held; a student internship program will be developed placing five students in entrepreneurial firms; and a new venture capital fund will begin operations in the area. These activities will result in the creation of 10 new jobs in the target region.
PROJECT: Expanding Entrepreneurship Education and Opportunity in Appalachia
GRANTEE: REAL Enterprises
Purpose: To support program activities at REAL headquarters that will strengthen the delivery of its program throughout the region.
Funding:
| ARC: |
$50,000 |
| Other Federal: |
$0 |
| State: |
$0 |
| Local: |
$58,392 |
| Total: |
$108,392 |
Description: ARC funds provided support for expansion and improvement of REAL programs operating within the region, particularly those in states that were not currently supported by state-wide REAL member organizations. Specific program elements included funding for REAL Master Facilitators, ETAC collaboration, and a REAL Entrepreneurship on-line course. The grantee involved six master facilitators in two training sessions. These facilitators then worked with 57 teachers in WV and VA, 19 instructors in AL, and 17 instructors in NC. In all, 32 new instructors were trained as a result of the master facilitator program. The on-line REAL curriculum was piloted in three locations, and will be expanded in the coming year. And an in-service training was held in NC focusing on export trade. In addition, REAL began work to build an Appalachian chapter of REAL.
PROJECT: HandMade Creative Economies Institute
GRANTEE: Hand Made In America
Purpose: To provide support to entrepreneurs in Western North Carolina.
Funding:
| ARC: |
$145,000 |
| Other Federal: |
$0 |
| State: |
$0 |
| Local: |
$40,000 |
| Total: |
$185,000 |
Description: The Appalachian Regional Commission will partner with the North Carolina-based HandMade Institute to create a dynamic development and training strategy for the Appalachian craft industry. By focusing on four components the HandMade Institute can leverage the ARC investment to create and sustain new jobs in Appalachia; enhance the quality and quantity of craft produced in the region; and establish the area as an international leader in craft. Four components of this initiative include: 1) Develop Institute Materials, Databases, and Conduct Two Training Seminars, 2) Develop an Appalachian Trade Apprenticeship Program for Craft, 3) Build Quality Entrepreneurship Through Arts/Craft Business Incubators, and 4) Establish a Craft Advisory Council for The Institute. These four components lay the foundation for sustaining a strong creative economy based on craft in Appalachia. Each program will include specific criteria, short-term performance outcomes and long-term measurement strategies. The programs can be created and launched within 24 months, with measurement to follow and lead to potential expansion.
PROJECT: North Carolina Capital Access Program
GRANTEE: Rural Economic Development Center, Inc
Purpose: To encourage banks to provide credit to underserved businesses throughout Appalachian North Carolina.
Funding:
| ARC: |
$400,000 |
| Other Federal: |
$0 |
| State: |
$0 |
| Local: |
$540,000 |
| Total: |
$940,000 |
Description: The NC Rural Economic Development Center will manage the Capital Access Program II to encourage banks to provide credit to underserved businesses throughout Appalachian North Carolina. Funding from the CAPII program will be used to pay banks a 3% fee when loans are made to underserved businesses (low to moderate income, female, and minority-owned businesses). The fee will cover promotion of the program to bank customers, loan application processing, and technical assistance to the borrower. The bank fee will be deposited by the bank into a reserve account, and the bank will match this deposit with a like amount into the same reserve account. The reserve account will be available to cover losses incurred on the loans enrolled in the program. The Rural Center projects that 468 loans of approximately $50,000 each will be made, resulting in the creation or retention of over 1,700 jobs.
PROJECT: North Carolina Entrepreneurship Initiative
GRANTEE: North Carolina Department of Commerce
Purpose: To support the development of entrepreneurial enterprises in the region.
Funding:
| ARC: |
$1,000,000 |
| Other Federal: |
$0 |
| State: |
$410,000 |
| Local: |
$847,400 |
| Total: |
$2,257,400 |
Description: The NC Department of Commerce will implement a comprehensive (8-element) program that will build awareness of and advocate for creating entrepreneurial economies. The program will focus financial tools, providers of technical assistance, and other resources to target rural and distressed areas and will provide services critical to enhancing the entrepreneurial climate of North Carolina's Appalachian area. Within two years, the initiative will deliver development assistance to 500 companies contributing to the retention and creation of 1,000 jobs. Additional projected outcomes include the generation of over $100 million in investment capital and creation of the NC Economic Opportunity Fund.
PROJECT: Quality Employment in Entrepreneurial Companies
GRANTEE: Sustainable Jobs Development Corporation (SJDC)
Purpose: To identify, fund, and support both start-ups and existing ventures with the potential to achieve strong social and financial returns.
Funding:
| ARC: |
$50,000 |
| Other Federal: |
$0 |
| State: |
$0 |
| Local: |
$191,300 |
| Total: |
$241,300 |
Description: The Sustainable Jobs Development Corporation (SJDC), which builds opportunities for low-wealth citizens through the growth of sustainable enterprises, has the unique advantage of working in parallel with the Sustainable Jobs Fund (SJF), a $17M community development venture fund. SJF has invested in eleven companies to date and has worked with and assisted many of the 950 prospect companies contacted since its inception in 1999. SJDC works in Appalachia to identify, fund, and support both start-ups and existing ventures with the potential to achieve strong social and financial returns. During the grant year, 34 companies were identified as potential portfolio firms, and technical assistance and due diligence activities were preformed on 12 firms. Three firms – two located in GA and one in PA - received investment support from SJF totaling $1.67M, and have created 38 new jobs with a projection of 136 additional jobs to follow. In addition, technical support was provided to existing portfolio firms in TN and PA. These two firms have already created over 600 new jobs in Appalachia.
PROJECT: Quality Employment in Entrepreneurial Companies, Phase II
GRANTEE: Sustainable Jobs Development Corporation (SJDC)
Purpose: To identify, fund, and support both start-ups and existing ventures with the potential to achieve strong social and financial returns.
Funding:
| ARC: |
$29,000 |
| Other Federal: |
$0 |
| State: |
$0 |
| Local: |
$38,500 |
| Total: |
$67,500 |
Description: The Sustainable Jobs Development Corporation (SJDC), a $17M development venture capital fund, will continue its work in Appalachia to identify, fund, and support both start-ups and existing ventures with the potential to achieve strong social and financial returns. ARC support will be used for personnel and other operational costs associated with these activities. The grantee projects that 75 prospect companies will be identified through its work, 18 will receive in-depth assistance, and one will receive direct investment resulting in the creation of 50 new jobs.
PROJECT: Regional Conferences on Entrepreneurship Education and Training
GRANTEE: NC REAL Enterprises
Purpose: To expose many local policymakers and practitioners to currently available models and approaches for entrepreneurship education and training.
Funding:
| ARC: |
$20,000 |
| Other Federal: |
$0 |
| State: |
$0 |
| Local: |
$0 |
| Total: |
$20,000 |
Description: This grant supported one of three sub-regional conferences on entrepreneurial education and training. Over 130 local education service providers, policy makers, and funding entities from ten states attended this event in Clyde, North Carolina. The conference location and grantee were selected through a competitive grant-making process. The aim of this sub-regional conference was to encourage national best practice tailored to the particular needs of local communities. The three main groups that the conference targeted included: educational service providers (teachers, principals, superintendents, board members, guidance counselors, community colleges, four-year institutions); funding entities (departments of education, department of commerce, Governor's offices); and state and local policymakers (county commissioners, mayors, state legislators, college presidents, and chambers of commerce). The conference was held in Clyde/Asheville, North Carolina, on April 10-11, 2000.
PROJECT: Blue Ridge Parkway Promoting Entrepreneurial Economies
GRANTEE: Western North Carolina Regional Economic Commission
Purpose: To continue a marketing campaign to attract visitors to the area along the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Funding:
| ARC: |
$100,000 |
| Other Federal: |
$0 |
| State: |
$0 |
| Local: |
$150,000 |
| Total: |
$250,000 |
Description: The grantee will continue a marketing campaign that will increase tourism and stimulate job creation along the Blue Ridge Parkway. The marketing campaign involves the distribution of a guidebook showcasing the assets along the Blue Ridge Parkway area, including the goods and services provided by the more than 4,200 local businesses located in the area. The campaign also includes an advertising program designed to stimulate interest in the Blue Ridge area from the general media, and the maintenance of a website that addresses the interests of Internet users. The marketing campaign will continue the efforts begun in 2001, which brought over 770,000 more tourists to the Blue Ridge area than the year before.
PROJECT: North Carolina Existing Business ServiCenter Demonstration
GRANTEE: North Carolina Department of Commerce
Purpose: To provide business-related technical assistance to existing small and medium size enterprises in Western North Carolina.
Funding:
| ARC: |
$40,000 |
| Other Federal: |
$0 |
| State: |
$0 |
| Local: |
$40,000 |
| Total: |
$80,000 |
Description: The grantee plans to create a business Service Center that will provide technical assistance to 2,200 businesses located in Western North Carolina and help retain 200 existing jobs. Using primarily electronic means--telephone, e-mail and website--the Service Center will provide businesses with a one-stop-shop that will allow for more efficient communication with the various state agencies that effect business development. Specifically, the ARC grant will provide the Service Center with the software needed to develop a website, as well as the initial operating costs for telephones, computers, mail and printed materials.
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