MADISON—Governor Jim Doyle today announced that 21 Wisconsin community-based organizations will share grants totaling $637,100 from the Community-Based Economic Development (CBED) Program administered by the Department of Commerce (Commerce).
“By investing in our communities, we will grow Wisconsin by creating new economic opportunities and jobs for hardworking families,” Governor Doyle said.
“I’m pleased to announce these awards that will leverage $1,251,035 in additional investment.”
The following summarizes the awards:
Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corp. (WWBIC) (Statewide) will receive funding through its Legislative Award to continue its many business assistance programs around the state. The organization has established a successful long-term collaboration with the Department of Commerce including operating the minority loan fund. WWBIC has continued to bring many federal and foundation dollars into the state and has continually expanded the range of services it delivers. WWBIC makes nearly 50 loans a year to low-income, women or minority entrepreneurs.
Service Area: State-wide
Location:-Milwaukee
Recommendation: $ 100,000
Previous CBED Awards: $1,291,721
Category: Business Assistance
Asset Builders of America, Inc. (Milwaukee and Madison) will use CBED funds to teach low income students in Milwaukee about financial literacy and investing. The project will also help 15 youth to produce business plans and will help those students to begin to implement their business plans. Asset Builders has raised contributions of “real-money” for students to invest and maintain as a stock portfolio.
Service Area: Madison, Milwaukee
Location: Madison
Recommendation: $ 24,000
Previous CBED Awards: $162,500
Category: Youth Entrepreneurship
ADVOCAP (Winnebago, Fond du Lac and Green Lake Counties) will receive funding to provide business retention services to businesses experiencing cash flow problems and economic distress. Advocap works primarily with lower income and minority entrepreneurs or works with existing businesses to create jobs for lower income workers.
Service Area: Winnebago, Fond du Lac, Green Lake Counties
Location: Fond du Lac
Recommendation: $24,000
Previous CBED Awards: $ 301,150
Category: Business Assistance
Western Dairyland Economic Opportunity Council, Inc. (Western Wisconsin)
Western Dairyland will provide business assistance to 100 entrepreneurs with disabilities and/or low-moderate income persons to start businesses or expand existing businesses. The project will focus on Buffalo, Jackson, Juneau and Trempealeau Counties and will include working with the Inventors and Entrepreneurs Network and with the Wisconsin Entrepreneurs Network. Service Area: Buffalo, Jackson, Juneau and Trempealeau Counties
Location: Eau Claire
Recommendation: $70,000
Previous CBED Awards: $ 440,919
Category: Regional
Northwest Regional Planning Commission in Spooner will continue to operate the Northwest Enterprise Center Network of five incubators in Northwest Wisconsin. The network of incubators has generated over twenty successful businesses, many that have been technology related. Due to the reconstruction of the incubator facility in Grantsburg, the network will operate at a loss until those vacated spaces are filled.
Service Area: Northwest Wisconsin
Location: Spooner
Recommendation: $ 24,000
Previous CBED Awards: $ 382,447
Category: Incubator Operation
Fox Valley Technical College Foundation will receive CBED funds to assist its Venture Center’s new program named Innovative Business Assistance-New Product Development initiative. The initiative is part of an integrated global effort to help small businesses innovate by giving them access to product development and technological information in a laboratory setting. Fox Valley Technical College has formed a partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and is the 16th similar lab in the world and second in the US only to MIT.
Service Area: Fox Valley Tech Service Area
Location: Appleton
Recommendation: $ 21,000
Previous CBED Awards: $0
Category: Incubator Operation
Oshkosh Area Economic Development Corporation (OAEDC) will receive funding to continue to operate its business assistance program in downtown Oshkosh. The project will include development of a website for local businesses and assistance for 10 new businesses. The OAEDC has created a program for coordinated business assistance that involves the pledged support of 12 partners to improve business conditions in Oshkosh.
Service Area: Oshkosh
Location: Oshkosh
Recommendation: $ 21,000
Previous CBED Awards: $77,000
Category: Business Assistance
Door County Economic Development Corporation (DCEDC) will use CBED funds to work in partnership with the Kewaunee County Economic Development Corporation to continue efforts to form a regional partnership to match the skills of youth graduating from regional educational institutions with the needs of local employers to help address the area’s aging workforce as well as losing young workers to other areas. This CBED grant will allow the project to develop a girl’s collaborative program as well as the current program that primarily focuses on male-dominated professions.
Service Area: Door and Kewaunee Counties
Location: Sturgeon Bay
Recommendation: $44,000
Previous CBED Awards: $433,298
Category: Regional Development
Commonwealth Development Corporation will receive funding to build a small technology room in one of the incubators it operates on the Eastside of Madison. The grant will allow the incubator to upgrade its wiring to put in T-1 service with up graded security and equipment. Commonwealth run incubators have graduated many highly successful businesses in the Madison area.
Service Area: Near East side of Madison
Location: Madison
Recommendation: $7,000
Previous CBED Awards: $95,200
Category: Incubator Operations
Living Lakes Heritage Inc. will receive funds to help pay for an expansion of the facility. The incubator is currently assisting 39 businesses with a waiting list; the added space will allow the facility to provide space for at least 50 food processors. The added space will also allow the facility to expand its meeting space so that it can offer more training and food-related activities. The project is an important part of the revitalization of downtown Algoma and has received considerable community support.
Service Area: Algoma Area
Location: Algoma
Recommendation: $70,000
Previous CBED Awards: $95,200
Category: Incubator Expansion
Green Bay Area Chamber of Commerce Foundation will receive $18,000 for incubator operations. The organization runs an incubator in Green Bay known as the Advance Business Development Center. It will receive a CBED grant to cover operating costs of its tech incubator opened two and one-half years ago. The $5 million incubator was completed in 2005 and is in need of funding to cover operating deficits until it attains sufficient revenue to cover costs. The facility is on the campus of Northeast Wisconsin Technical College which leases the incubator to Advance.
Service Area: Green Bay Area
Location: Green Bay
Recommendation: $18,000
Previous CBED Awards: $403,690
Category: Incubator Operation
Waupaca County Economic Development Corporation will receive funding for a retail revitalization project in Waupaca County. The program is designed so that retail businesses in rural communities join forces and work together to capture more customers by creating a collaborative process like that in a mall. The project will be developed in New London and then replicated in smaller communities in the county.
Service Area: Waupaca
Location: Waupaca County
Recommendation: $30,000
Previous CBED Awards: $0
Category: Regional
Columbia County Economic Development Corporation will receive funding to do a feasibility study for an incubator that will be located near the Portage MATC campus. The county has been hurt by plant closings in the past decade and a good part of its workforce now commutes to nearby counties. The City of Portage and MATC will be partners in the study.
Service Area: Columbia County
Location: Portage
Recommendation: $6,000
Previous CBED Awards: $22,500
Category: Incubator Feasibility
Milwaukee Accelerated Start-ups, Inc. will receive funding to create a multi-county on-line business assistance program in the Milwaukee Region. The project has been developed as part of the strategy that grew out of the Milwaukee-7 initiative. The project will coordinate the considerable number of existing resources to offer one web source where entrepreneurs can obtain assistance.
Service Area: Seven County Milwaukee region
Location: West Bend
Recommendation: $30,000
Previous CBED Awards: $0
Category: Regional
University of Wisconsin-Stout Technology Transfer Institute will provide assistance to business incubator tenants and emerging businesses in 14 counties of Northwest Wisconsin. These services are currently provided to UW-Stout’s Technology and Business Incubator and include product development, marketing, packaging, manufacturing process improvement, organizational development and other related services. These services have allowed the Stout Technology incubator to graduate 70 percent of the tenants that started in that facility. Many of these one-time tenants are now substantial and growing companies.
Service Area: Northwest Wisconsin
Location: Menomonie
Recommendation: $30,000
Previous CBED Awards: $124,100
Category: Regional Development
Benton Community Economic Development The Benton Community Development Corporation will receive funding for incubator operations. Because the incubator is relatively small and in a small town the community has had to subsidize the operation. The Village of Benton has taken a very proactive approach to development to try and stem recent economic losses. In that regard, they have put considerable resources into this project to make it a success.
Service Area: Village of Benton
Location: Benton
Recommendation: $9,300
Previous CBED Awards: $15,000
Category: Incubator Operations
Eau Claire Economic Development Corporation will receive funding to help implement a major plan to retain workers who have obtained technical training in the region and to bring back workers who were trained in the region but left because they were unaware of the job opportunities that now exist. The purpose of the project is to bring together educational institutions, regional businesses and area economic development entities to create a unified database and marketing strategy.
Service Area: Eau Claire, Chippewa Counties
Location: Eau Claire
Recommendation: $36,000
Previous CBED Awards: $48,000
Category: Regional Development
Milwaukee Minority Business Opportunity Center will receive funding to provide business assistance services to small minority firms. The project is a continuation of the successful incubator services that have been offered in the Milwaukee YWCA incubator. The Department of Commerce has been an important partner in this incubator since its inception in 1994. Numerous successful women and minority owned businesses have graduated from the facility in the previous 12 years.
Service Area: Milwaukee
Location: Milwaukee
Recommendation: $15,000
Previous CBED Awards: $0
Category: Business Assistance
Wisconsin Rural Partners, Inc. will use CBED funds to help rural communities set up small Community Foundations. This project stems from a recent national study that shows over $100 billion in wealth will be transferred in the next ten years. While there are Community Foundations that will benefit from this transfer in larger communities, few such organizations exist in rural areas. The hope is that this opportunity for increased philanthropy will help offset loses in government funding for vital community development projects. Wisconsin Rural Partners has a long record of success in helping rural areas of the state obtain the resources necessary for community development.
Service Area: Rural Wisconsin
Location: Rural Wisconsin
Recommendation: $15,000
Previous CBED Awards: $27,000
Category: Regional Development
Wausau Business Development Center will use CBED funding to help complete the build out of the second floor of the new Wausau Business Incubator. The facility will include a training room and a kitchen. Since opening in 2005, the incubator has nearly filled its existing space with many tech related small businesses. The grant will allow for full build out of the facility.
Service Area: Wausau Area
Location: Wausau
Recommendation: $10,500
Previous CBED Awards: $163,000
Category: Incubator Operation
Wisconsin Ability Network will receive funding to expand development of a network of sheltered workshops by establishing strategic private sector partnerships, expanding the marketing of products and services and take opportunity of preferential purchasing by governmental units. The goal of the project is to increase the productivity of workshops resulting in higher pay and more job opportunities. The project will serve sheltered workshops throughout the state.
Service Area: State-wide
Location: State-wide
Recommendation: $32,300
Previous CBED Awards: $0
Category: Regional
