Ohio Microbusiness Development Program
Members of the Ohio Microbusiness Development Program participate in the April 2016 Microbusiness Summit in Columbus.
Ohio Microbusiness Development Program Details
The purpose of the Ohio Microbusiness Development Program is to provide funding for OCDCA nonprofit members seeking to offer microbusiness development programs to further develop a local delivery system that encourages microbusiness development, provides low- and moderate-income households with access to capital for business development and self-employment, and creates and retains long-term jobs in the private sector. The assistance enabled by this funding can be in the form of either training or technical assistance, or direct assistance to the business in the form of a loan.
Funding
Funding for the Ohio Microbusiness Development Program comes from the Ohio Housing Trust Fund (OHTF) through the Ohio Department of Development (ODOD). Funding for the Recoverable Grant Fund comes from Fifth Third Bank and the U.S. Bank Foundation.
Eligibility
Eligible organizations must meet the following criteria:
Incorporated with the State of Ohio for the last two years;
Valid 501(c)(3) IRS designation;
Board of directors composed of no less than one-third low- to moderate-income (LMI) members, defined as:
Members whose households are low- to moderate-income;
Members who represent organizations that primarily serve LMI households;
Membership in the Ohio CDC Association;
Eligible organization must be community-based and have a development focus;
Eligible organization must have an audited financial statement within the last year or a set of financial statements and tax returns for the immediately previous two (2) years and the most recent financial audit.
Eligible organizations may apply for funding of up to $30,000, 10% of which can be used for administrative expenses.
Ohio Microbusiness Recoverable Grant Fund
In 2015, in an effort to bolster capacity building offerings to our membership, OCDCA, with member, board, and a separate case development group’s support, created the Ohio Microbusiness Recoverable Grant Fund. OCDCA has created the Ohio Microbusiness Recoverable Grant Fund to provide a sustainable pool of funding to these community development organizations, who can then use the funds to make loans to local microentrepreneurs in their community.
Members of the Ohio Microbusiness Development Program gain access to the Ohio Microbusiness Recoverable Grant Fund, which makes recoverable grants to microbusiness development programs in order for the program to make loans to low-moderate income microentrepreneur clients.
For further questions about the program, please contact Suzanne Parks at 614-461-6392, ext. 206.
