The City of Raleigh has partnered with Carolina Small Business Development Fund (CSBDF) to provide funding and technical assistance to local small businesses. The program, Oak City Biz Labs, will launch on Friday, July 15, and utilizes $4.2 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding received by the City.
Small businesses can receive up to $30,000 in funds for collateral enhancements, debt repayments, equipment or vehicle leasing, specialized training or certification expenses, technology and equipment purchases, and more. To help small businesses achieve their long-term goals, technical assistance and training will be required for all applicants in areas such as capital, supply chain connectivity, business operations, and marketing. The free technical assistance training for Oak City Biz Labs is supported by CSBDF’s Digital Learning Academy. Also, although not required as part of the grant application, technical assistance can include businesses working with CSBDF to obtain affordable loans, in addition to the grants, if funding above the maximum grant level is needed to meet their needs.
Applicants must be for-profit businesses located in Raleigh that have been operating since March 1, 2019. Revenues cannot exceed $5 million annually as of the most recent Business Tax Returns, and businesses must have less than 50 employees with no active bankruptcies or tax liens. For a complete list of eligibility requirements and the application, please visit Oak City Biz Labs. The application for Oak City Biz Labs will be open from July 15 through July 31, 2022.
“The City of Raleigh is excited to partner once again with Carolina Small Business Development Fund to provide programmatic support and much-needed financial assistance to local small business owners. While many small businesses have been able to weather the worst of the impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic, many continue to struggle to fully recover,” said City of Raleigh Assistant City Manager Evan Raleigh.
Carolina Small Business Development Fund is a nonprofit and U.S. Treasury-certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) that provides financing, technical assistance, and policy research to support small businesses. “Many of our small businesses are still grappling with the impact of COVID-19, and as our economic landscape is changing, it’s increasingly important to equip businesses with not just tools needed for recovery, but the tools needed for resilience,” said CSBDF CEO Kevin Dick. Oak City Biz Labs is one of many business assistance services offered by CSBDF and represents the nonprofit’s third active business development program run in partnership with a municipality.
“This partnership will help ensure that small businesses in our community, particularly those owned by historically underserved groups and individuals, will have access to the resources needed to ensure both their short- and long-term success,” said Raleigh.
Applications will be processed on a first-come, first-served basis until selected applications exhaust the fund pool.