INCENTIVES & BUSINESS RESOURCES

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GRANTS & INCENTIVES

Live It Up! Hillsborough Street (HSCSC) wants to provide the best resources to help you start your business here on Hillsborough Street. In addition to the business resources listed below, there are other opportunities that could assist in the project, including:

Oak City Business Labs Grant Program: To help small businesses and entrepreneurs recover from the pandemic, Carolina Small Business Development Fund and the City of Raleigh are proud to offer Oak City Biz Labs, a technical assistance and grant program.  APPLICATIONS OPEN JULY 15 - JULY 31, 2022.  The 2.1M in funds will be distributed on a first come first serve basis.  Contact Shannon Johnson if you need assistance with the application - Shannonj@hillsboroughstreet.org

City of Raleigh | Façade Grant Program: Learn more about the City of Raleigh’s grant program to help storefront businesses and property owners with improving the façades of their buildings- Hillsborough Street businesses are eligible for up to $10,000 in matching grant funds.

City of Raleigh | Building Up-fit Grant: Learn more about the City of Raleigh’s grant program to help tenants defray up to $25,000 in up-fit costs.

Hillsborough Street Public Art Grant: Learn more about Hillsborough Street's grant program to support public-facing art on Hillsborough Street (can be used for outdoor murals, art installations, public space activations, interactive displays, etc. – creativity and legality being the only limits).

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BUSINESS RESOURCES

The City of Raleigh has provided a useful list of questions and answers for prospective business owners to review. Learn the common questions about starting a new business in the City or Raleigh.

Small Business Center (SBC) at Wake Tech Community College

The Small Business Center at Wake Tech Community College is a state funded organization which is part of the Small Business Center Network of North Carolina. The SBC provides small business owners with information they need for starting or expanding their small business and offers, confidential, one-on-one counseling with the Small Business Center Director. For more information call (919) 335-1001.

Raleigh SCORE

Raleigh SCORE offers free business counseling resources. For more information, call (919) 856-4739 from Monday - Friday from 9 am - 12 pm.

NC Small Business and Technology Development Center (SBTDC)

The SBTDC is the business and technology extension service of the University of North Carolina which oversees the 16 constituent institutions of the University system. The SBTDC is administered by North Carolina State and operated in partnership with US Small Business Administration. It is committed to providing knowledge, education and other supportive resources that enable existing small and mid-sized businesses, emerging entrepreneurs and local/state leaders to innovate and succeed. For more information, please contact (919) 715-7272 or (800) 258-0862 (in NC only), email them at info@sbtdc.org.

Business Link North Carolina

BLNC, or "blink," is a business resource access point for an extensive network of experts who can help your business succeed. Business Link North Carolina can connect you to services provided by state-supported agencies, many of which are free. Call BLNC toll-free at (800) 228-8443, or local at (919) 807-4280, Monday - Friday, 8 am to 5 pm EST to talk with one of their business counselors.

NC Capital Access Program

This program expands business finance options for businesses across the state. By reducing risk, it encourages banks and other qualified lenders to consider loans that otherwise fall just outside of conventional underwriting standards. For a list of participating banks and institutions as well as more information about the program, visit www.ncruralcenter.org/business-programs/capaccess.html or contact Tony Johnson (919) 250-4314 at the NC Rural Economic Development Center.

The Support Center

Assists with funding available through Community Development Credit Unions.

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