Thanks to grant-funded initiatives provided by the Thompson Charitable Foundation, technical assistance, training opportunities, and loans are available to small businesses in Buchanan and Tazewell Counties.
Funded by a grant from the Thompson Charitable Foundation, the Southwest Virginia Workforce Development Board is offering technical assistance to small businesses in Buchanan and Tazewell Counties: areas that have been negatively impacted by the downturn in the coal economy. With the aim of increasing sales and/or redirecting cost savings toward business expansion, the Small Business Expansion Empowerment (S-BEE) Initiative will focus on the following areas of assistance (with other assistance considered on a case-by-case basis):
To qualify, a small business should (1) complete the S-BEE Initiative application and provide company demographics, description of assistance requested, number of employees impacted, and projected outcomes, (2) agree to participate in sector partnerships (e.g., manufacturing, information technology, tourism/outdoor recreation, health care, etc.) and other business roundtable events, and (3) have current Chamber of Commerce membership status as evidence of community commitment.
The Thompson Charitable Foundation has provided funds to the Southwest Virginia Workforce Development Board to offer small, no-interest loans to businesses with 50 employees or less in Tazewell and Buchanan Counties to help with costs associated with operations and expansion.
Criteria for the loan include:
Contact: Rachel Patton, Director of Business Solutions
Email: r.patton@swvaworks.com
Phone: (276) 608-1851
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