ASPIRE COMMUNITY CAPITAL, GOODWILL® AND LOWE’S FOUNDATION EXPANDS ENTREPRENEURIAL PROGRAMS FOR UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES
August 24, 2021
WBTV Community Conversation: Academy helps people become successful entrepreneurs
October 21, 2021
On August 25th at 10 am, ASPIRE Community Capital was gifted a $275,000 grant from the Lowe’s Foundation, in partnership with Goodwill Industries of Southern Piedmont to help more people in the Charlotte region create small businesses. The grant will help ASPIRE expand program offerings including the Community Business Academy, Business Accelerator Services, and Access to Capital program.
Our Community Business Academy (CBA) is the beginning of the entrepreneurial journey for our participants. Once graduated, participants can move into the Business Accelerator Services program (BAS), where they will receive one-on-one coaching and additional support services under a 90-day action plan. Finally, graduates of both the CBA and the BAS are able to apply for the Access to Capital program (ATC), which connects them to funding resources, including ASPIRE’s micro-loan fund that provides loans ranging from $2,500 to $10,000.
Watch the video above to learn more about the grant from the Lowe’s Foundation, hear from an ASPIRE CBA graduate, and learn how ASPIRE and Goodwill will work together to offer even more aspiring and current entrepreneurs a critical business foundation, one-on-one business development coaching, and access to resources.
