Small business serves as the backbone of the United States economy, providing a vital source of innovation and employment, and is a significant contributor to the nation’s financial growth, according to a recent report from USA Today.
The importance of small business to our local Washington County economy aligns with the national importance, and so when the Community Foundation’s own financial growth enabled us to add economic development to our funding areas in 2021, we sought to identify a project that would enable us to support small business growth in Washington County. We also wanted to identify a project that would be transformational to both the nonprofit receiving the grant as well as to the community that would ultimately benefit from the grant.
All three of these objectives were met through a $50,000 grant to the Mon Valley Alliance to initiate a Business Resource Center (BRC) in the Mon Valley.
The Community Foundation’s grant leveraged an additional $350,000 in financial support from other sources, which enabled the Alliance to complete renovations on a former bank building in the heart of downtown Monongahela. In the rehabilitation process, local contractors were utilized, helping the local economy even before the project was completed.
“This renovation project included the creation of a new training and classroom space, as well as a ‘huddle’ room designed for private, one-on-one small business coaching sessions,” remarked Jamie Colecchi, CEO of the Alliance. “Importantly, the renovations also ensured that the Business Resource Center is now ADA compliant, allowing disabled business owners and entrepreneurs to fully access the resources and opportunities provided by the MVA.”
With renovations complete, the BRC is prepared to serve as a centralized resource for small businesses seeking technical assistance, capacity building resources, educational workshops, and other trainings to improve their personal business acumen and expand opportunity for their enterprises.
The BRC will have offerings available for entrepreneurs with varying levels of readiness and experience. This includes resources to launch a business, resources to maintain and stay in business, and resources to help scale or grow a business. The Alliance is currently exploring a partnership with the Ignite business incubator of Washington & Jefferson College to expand its Ideas 2 Enterprise program to the BRC.
With a mission to promote and market economic development and job creation in the Mid Mon Valley communities, the Mon Valley Alliance operates several ongoing programs in addition to the BRC. Through its Small Business Loan Program and Microloan Program, it has invested approximately $1 million in the local economy.
Other projects with which the Alliance is actively involved include the Charleroi Neighborhood Partnership Program, a $1.5 million project over six years for community improvement projects and social services. The Alliance also led the effort to build a new $2 million, 6,300 square feet office building in Charleroi for the PA Career Link.
We are encouraged by the work of the Mon Valley Alliance and are very optimistic that the BRC will soon prove to be a sound investment in strengthening the backbone of our local economy – small business.