There are almost 28 million small businesses in the U.S. and over 22 million are microbusinesses with no additional payroll or employees. These businesses are sources of local and personal pride in their communities. The U.S. Small Business Administration found that since 1995, 2 out of every 3 new jobs created have come from small businesses. They are indeed the backbone of the economy, but many entrepreneurs lack access to traditional banking resources.
The Ohio Microbusiness Development Program provides funding for OCDCA nonprofit members that offer microbusiness development programs to further develop a local delivery system for training and technical assistance to entrepreneurs. Funded by the Ohio Department of Development, the program 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 training or technical assistance or direct assistance to the business in the form of a loan or Individual Development Account (IDA).
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. The OMBDP provides funding support on a competitive basis to 13 community development organizations to foster microbusiness development for low-to-moderate income entrepreneurs in the form of training, technical assistance, and loan fund development.
Through this program, community development organizations strengthen the economic health of their communities by investing time and resources into these microbusinesses, which become community assets. 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.
