The Vance Granville Community College Foundation has received a $50,000 grant award from Duke Energy Foundation to support small business growth in the four-county area it serves.
And community college officials have come up with a creative way to make sure that the money is equitably distributed to do the most good.
The VGCC Foundation was one of 21 community organizations from across the state to share in $700,000 in this round of funding, said Beth Townsend, Duke Energy local government and community relations manager. Since it was established in 2020, the program has given more than $2 million in grant funds to small businesses across the state.
Townsend was a guest on Wednesday’s TownTalk, and was joined by VGCC’s Carolyn Perry, director of the Small Business Center, and Kyle Burwell, dean of Business and Industry Solutions, who provided details about how the money would be used.
The VGCC Small Business Center will select grant fund recipients through a series of workshops, one based in each of the four counties the college serves. Each workshop session will be comprised of four evening classes for a total of 10 hours of instruction. The sessions will culminate with a five-minute pitch contest, after which five of the session’s 10 participants will receive a $2,500 award to support their small business.
Workshop dates and locations are as follows:
- 16–19: VGCC South Campus, Creedmoor
- 30 – Oct. 3: VGCC Main Campus, Henderson
- 7–10: VGCC Warren Campus, Warrenton
- 14–17: VGCC Franklin Campus, Louisburg
Perry said there are just a few requirements to participate – applicants must be 18 years old and must be residents of the county of the workshop they sign up for. Only one participant per household is allowed and anyone associated with VGCC is not eligible to take part, she said.
If you do a little quick math, $50,000 divided by 4 equals $12,500. There will be 20 awards – 5 per county – which means that each grant will be $2,500.
The first three days of the process will involve coaching and developing a plan that will be pitched on day 4, Perry said, sort of like TV’s “Shark Tank.”
VGCC leaders have devised a creative way to help small business owners come up with innovative ways to infuse capital into their endeavors.
“When you start off with some capital,” said Burwell, you increase a business’s survival rate, not to mention provide stability and create additional employment opportunities. She said it’s a way to help businesses learn how to use funding and market themselves, which creates “a true impact for all of our communities.”
Perry said the Number One question she gets from entrepreneurs who seek advice and help from the Small Business Center is “Can you tell me where there are some grant dollars for my business?”
Owners of retail shops, restaurants and other small businesses looking to expand, their business, upgrade technology, improve marketing or downtown storefronts are just the kind of participant VGCC’s Small Business Center is looking for.
“We want to see how creative they’ll be,” Perry said. The timing right before the holidays could prove extra helpful; some small businesses depend on a brisk holiday sales season to boost their bottom line.
“Small businesses remain the backbone of the U.S. economy, and in rural areas, they also serve as the heartbeat of our local economies,” noted VGCC President Dr. Rachel Desmarais. “This monetary commitment enables Vance-Granville Community College to promote the entrepreneurial mindset and support budding small business ideas into real businesses within our larger community.”
To learn more about this program and participant requirements, contact Perry at 252.738.3240 or perryc@vgcc.edu.
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