Beyond Open Small Business Grant Program Awards $5.8M in its Third and Final Round
The final round of grants are awarded to more than 100 small business owners to help acquire capital assets and create economic mobility in the community.
CHARLOTTE, N.C., November 14, 2024 – Today, Foundation For The Carolinas announced the completion of its third and final round of grant funding for Beyond Open. The small business grant program has selected 109 small businesses to receive grants ranging from $10,000 to $150,000, totaling $5.8M in awards.
Led by Foundation For The Carolinas (FFTC) and supported by a philanthropic investment from Wells Fargo’s Open For Business Fund, Beyond Open is a competitive small business grant program centered on building economic mobility in the Charlotte community including diverse- owned (minority, woman, veteran, LGBTQ+, persons with disabilities) small businesses located within six Corridors of Opportunity as identified by the City of Charlotte. Awarded funds can be used to purchase capital assets including equipment, technology, inventory and real estate.
“Beyond Open is not only helping small businesses access financial capital, but also expanding equitable connections to additional supports, programs and organizations that can help small businesses succeed and, in turn, create added economic mobility in our community,” said Tracy Russ, Foundation For The Carolinas Special Advisor for Civic Initiatives. “FFTC is grateful for the generous support of Wells Fargo that makes Beyond Open possible and impactful in our community.”
Round three small business grantees are located within six Corridors of Opportunity and reflect a range of industries, including youth and adult daycare centers, service providers, restaurants, retail shops, transportation services, and creative entrepreneurs. Of the 109 small businesses selected to receive an award in this final grantmaking round:
a. 94% identified as a person of color
b. 51% are woman-owned
c. 7% are veteran-owned
d. 6% identify as disabled-owned
e. 5.5% identify as LGBTQ+-owned
f. 83% are solopreneurs or have no more than 10 employees
g. 86% earn less than $1M in annual revenue
Across three rounds of grantmaking, Beyond Open has awarded a combined total of $16.3M in direct grants to 402 small businesses and select nonprofits, exceeding the program’s original commitment of $15M across three rounds.
“We are proud that Beyond Open continues to help diverse small business owners in Charlotte,” said Darlene Goins, head of Philanthropy and Community Impact at Wells Fargo. “When we helped to launch the program coming out of the pandemic, our goal was to create opportunities for near-term access to capital and to address meaningful economic recovery for key corridors around the city. Beyond Open is enabling small businesses to purchase equipment, upgrade technology, purchase commercial property and more, putting these entrepreneurs on a path to grow and deepen their community roots.”
Beyond Open offered an array of awareness outreach and supports to applicants, many of whom were applying for the first time to a small business grant or loan program. These supports included live and virtual application support sessions, a step-by-step Beyond Open Application Guide, FAQs, key application question guidance, and other materials in English, Spanish and Vietnamese. Beyond Open partnered with a network of community organizations to offer additional assistance, including application workshops and 1:1 applicant supports. These partner organizations include: ASPIRE Community Capital, Carolinas Asian American Chamber of Commerce, Charlotte Alliance Foundation, Charlotte Mecklenburg Black Chamber of Commerce, City Startup Labs, Historic West End Partners, Latin American Chamber of Commerce of Charlotte, North End Community Coalition, Prospera, Veterans Bridge Home, Vietnamese Association of Charlotte, and the Women’s Business Center of Charlotte.
Small business owners are encouraged to continue engagement with these small business providers, to explore additional resources in the Beyond Open Small Business Resource Guide, and to utilize RISE–a digital suite of small business resources developed by the Charlotte Alliance Foundation. These resources were created to consolidate the many resources and funding opportunities available to diverse small business owners in Charlotte-Mecklenburg.
Beyond Open Description and Purpose Beyond Open Small Business Grant Program (Beyond Open) is administered by FFTC Partners For Empowering Communities, a supporting organization of Foundation For The Carolinas. The program is made possible by support from Wells Fargo’s Open for Business Fund. The Beyond Open grant program will help small business owners in Charlotte-Mecklenburg by investing in capital assets such as equipment, technology, inventory, and real estate, for the purposes of relieving poverty, eliminating prejudice and discrimination, reducing neighborhood tensions, and combatting community deterioration. Specifically, Beyond Open grants will focus on retaining jobs, encouraging job growth and economic development, and inspiring new entrepreneurial endeavors in communities with low economic mobility (with a focus on Charlotte's "Corridors of Opportunity"), as well as creating opportunities for small businesses to provide goods or services in, or start businesses in, areas of affluence where minority business owners have been historically under-represented. More information is available at beyondopenclt.com.