Small Business and Social Enterprise Support
When our local businesses thrive, our community thrives. Englewood CDC is dedicated to ensuring that small and mid-size businesses, including social enterprise ventures, are able to succeed in our neighborhood.
Over the last seven years, Englewood CDC has received and successfully administered four separate federal grants related to job creation that have resulted in the creation and retention of more than 300 new jobs. In addition, our development activities have directly created 50 jobs along the East Washington Street corridor, including the $38 million redevelopment of the PR Mallory campus and our own social enterprise, Uplift Produce, a 40,000 square-foot indoor farm developed as a joint venture with the Dutch company (PlantLab).
Services Available
Real Estate Technical Assistance for Small Businesses/Social Enterprises
Relocation/expansion, access to funding for job creation for low-income individuals, connection to workforce development partners, brownfield expertise, social enterprise experience, etc.
Englewood CDC has assisted more than 50 businesses to begin, relocate or expand their business on the Near Eastside and along the East Washington Street Corridor.
For Real Estate Technical Assistance Contact:
Joe Bowling
joe@englewoodcdc.com
Facade Improvement Grants
Englewood CDC manages a matching facade grant program from LISC Indianapolis, which provides matching grants to property owners willing to renovate the street-front exteriors of their structures.
For Facade Improvement Grants Contact:
Abigail Lane
abigail@englewoocdc.com
Small business loans (through KIVA)
Kiva is an international nonprofit with a mission to expand financial access to help underserved communities thrive. They do this through microloans to unlock capital for the underserved. In February, ECDC went through the process of becoming a Kiva trustee. Trustees are people or organizations that publicly vouch for entrepreneurs in their community for the Kiva program. Trustees can empower entrepreneurs in their community with 0% interest loans.
Case Study
Uplift Produce
Uplift Produce is a social enterprise of ECDC and now has a fully operational indoor farm growing healthy food and produce that is featured on grocery store shelves across the Midwest. Uplift Produce is both a food access and job creation strategy for our community.