Incubator-Funding Phyllis Queen

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Incubator-Funding Phyllis Queen

• Thomas Family Center for Entrepreneurship
• Business Consultant

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Business Incubator(National Business Incubation
Association)

• Business incubators are instrumental in
  accelerating the success of entrepreneurs with
  the start-up of new or fledgling companies.

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Types of Services

• Business Basics Assistance
• Marketing Assistance
• Technology Assistance
• Networking Activities Assistance
• Financial Management Assistance
• Regulatory Compliance Assistance

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Types of Services (cont.)

• Assist with Access to Capital
• Access to Internet Services
• Access to Higher Education Resources
• Assist with Presentation Abilities
• Access to Business Training Programs
• Assistance with Intellectual Property

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N. C. Rural Center

• Building Reuse and Restoration Grants Program

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Purpose

• To spur economic activity and job creation by
  assisting in the productive reuse of vacant
  buildings in small towns.

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Description

• The Building Reuse and Restoration Grants
  Program assists communities in returning vacant
  properties to job-generating use. The grants
  match other public and private funding to
  restore, renovate and equip properties from
  storefronts to factories for use by new and
  expanding businesses. The businesses in turn
  create jobs, add to the tax base and restore hope
  in struggling communities,

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Grant Categories

• Pre-development Grants - 25,000
• Development Grants - 400,000

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Job Criteria (1)

• Jobs must be full-time with benefits, and net
  new.
• Must be minimum wage, 35 hours per week minimum.
• Jobs must be created within 24 months of the
  grant award will be verified upon completion of
  project.

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Job Criteria (2)

• Buildings proposed for funding under this program
  must have been vacant for at least 6 months prior
  to application. Partially occupied buildings will
  not be considered for funding.
• At least one new job should locate in the project
  building for every 10,000 in grant funds.

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Eligibility

• Eligible recipients must be units of local
  government located within North Carolinas 85
  rural counties or within an economically
  distressed urban county (tier one) as designated
  by the N.C. Department of Commerce.

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County Tier Designations(NC Department of
Commerce)
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Economic Recovery Assistance

• Maximum grant award of 480,000
• 12,000 per job created
• Local government match requirement can be
  fulfilled with in-kind grant administration.
• Building vacancy requirement of only 3 months.

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Source

• The N.C. General Assembly
• Fiscal year 2008 legislature appropriated 6
  million for the program.
• 8 million allocated for fiscal year 2009
• 13 million awarded to 117 grant recipients over
  last 4 years.
• These projects are expected to create over 3,700
  jobs and leverage more than 300 million in
  private investments.

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USDA

• Rural Economic Development Loans
• and Grants

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Purpose

• Promote rural economic development and/or job
  creation projects including feasibility studies,
  start-up costs, and business incubators.

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Eligibility

• Electric Companies
• Telephone companies
• Rural Areas

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Recipients of Lumbee River Development Grant

• Southeastern Heart Center 200,000
• Fitness Center of Red Springs 200,000
• Cottonwood Daycare (COMtech) 450,000
• Nash Finch 500,000

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Rural Cooperative Development Grant

• Purpose
• To conduct feasibility studies, business plans,
  as well as provide training and other technical
  assistance to new and existing cooperatives and
  businesses.

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Eligibility

• Institutions of Higher Education
• Non-profit Organizations

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In Summary

• There ARE grants available and TFCE has started
  the process towards the establishment of an
  incubation center
• We have met with an owner of a potential property
  in downtown Lumberton.
• Our next step now is to create a
  University/Private venture with grants and
  private funding.