Beyond Open Distributes $4.8 Million to 116 Small Businesses in Second Round of Small Business Grant Program, Launches “Access for All” Resources

Beyond Open grants, which are being led by Foundation For The Carolinas and made possible by Wells Fargo’s Open for Business Fund, are helping preserve jobs, grow job opportunities and build economic mobility in Charlotte-Mecklenburg with a focus on historically underserved communities.

CHARLOTTE, N.C., November 8, 2023 – Today, Foundation For The Carolinas announced that 116 small businesses within Charlotte’s Corridors of Opportunity have been chosen through a competitive review process to receive grants totaling $4.8 million from the second round of the Beyond Open small business grant program.

Beyond Open Round 2 grants range from $10,000 to $150,000 and do not need to be repaid. The grant program, established with a $20 million grant from Wells Fargo, has distributed a combined total of $10.7 million in its first two rounds, with a third grantmaking round scheduled for 2024.

“Our community’s small businesses are critical change makers for economic mobility, employment, and a range of positive community impacts. With the support of Wells Fargo’s Open for Business Fund, Foundation For The Carolinas is honored to help small businesses thrive as leaders within the Corridors of Opportunity and across the community through the Beyond Open program,” said Tracy Russ, FFTC Special Advisor for Civic Initiatives, who is leading the Beyond Open program.

“Working with Foundation For The Carolinas, we are accelerating small business growth across Charlotte and hundreds of small businesses are benefiting along the way,” said Jenny Flores, head of small business growth philanthropy for Wells Fargo. “This grant program is an example of enabling entrepreneurs to invest in their business so they can provide more jobs in the community and grow.”

Impacts

A Six-Month Metrics Report from July 2023 by the Urban Institute at University of North Carolina Charlotte and Johnson C. Smith University includes self-reported data gathered from Beyond Open Round 1 grantees who participated in a recent survey. The data shows that 89% of Round 1 grantee survey respondents reported increases in the total number of jobs provided within their small businesses, for a total of 214 new jobs created across all survey respondents. In addition, Round 1 grantee survey respondents reported 450 jobs preserved. Seventy-three percent of Round 1 grantee survey respondents reported an increase in projected revenue. 

A Beyond Open round one grant was used to make repairs to an older building occupied by Saigon Night Restaurant and Karaoke Bar in Charlotte’s Central/Albemarle Corridor. “We were unable to open as a restaurant in our building without funding to fulfill necessary repairs,” said owner of Saigon Night and Beyond Open grantee, Tony Pham. “Now I’ve been able to fulfill the requirements needed to offer food in addition to the karaoke bar, and a place where different people come together, create connections and friendships in the community.” More Beyond Open Round 1 grantee stories are available at beyondopenclt.com.

“Access for All” Resources Launched

Beyond Open also released a Small Business Resource Guide created in collaboration with the CLT Alliance Foundation. Beyond Open announced focused support for the CLT Alliance Foundation’s community outreach efforts to connect small business owners to Regional Innovation and Support for Entrepreneurs (RISE), a digital small business resource platform recently launched by the CLT Alliance Foundation. The Beyond Open Resource Guide and community outreach support for RISE are among Beyond Open program offerings included in a new “Access for All” effort that continues support for organizations in the small business ecosystem and seeks to expand equitable access to small business resources in the Charlotte- Mecklenburg community.

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 diverse, 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 and the application are available at beyondopenclt.com.

Round 3 Information

As with the first two rounds of the program, Beyond Open’s grantmaking will be guided and informed by community input including a survey of all applicants, 1:1 and group discussions across the city, and review of available program data to maximize impact across the community. Small business owners can learn more about Beyond Open in preparation for the third and final round in 2024 by visiting beyondopenclt.com.