SMALL BUSINESSES TO RECEIVE MORE ASSISTANCE

SMALL BUSINESSES TO RECEIVE MORE ASSISTANCE

The grant of $985,000 is for five years and will enable the SBTC to open an office in the region and to serve existing and start-up businesses.

Founded in Martinsville in 2005 by the Harvest Foundation, the SBTC was developed in partnership with the Martinsville-Henry County Chamber of Commerce and Virginia Tech to provide business consulting services to enhance the economy of the region. The SBTC has been serving approximately 45 businesses a year.

The SBTC provides consulting services for local and regional existing and emerging private businesses, non-profit organizations, economic development organizations, local governments using business analysts, Virginia Tech and industry experts. The SBTC also offers internship opportunities to business student from regional colleges and universities.

“Through this grant, we can increase our capacity and serve more businesses based on very high demand,” said Eva Doss, Executive Director of the SBTC. “We encourage businesses to call our office to learn more about our services.”

The announcement was made at the Dan River Business Development Center, where the SBTC will open its office October 15. The SBTC will hire a deputy director for the Danville office and plans to hire an additional business analyst in the third year of the grant.

The SBTC has been serving a limited number of clients in the Danville area. Representatives of three of them, the Danville Regional Airport, Chatham Communications, and the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research, discussed how the SBTC has assisted the development of their organizations.

The SBTC assists in job creation and retention, increased capital investments, increased sales and business growth, target market expansions, and business education and training, based on demand.

“The Foundation is impressed with the tangible results that the SBTC has achieved in its initial three years,” said Karl Stauber, President and CEO. “This grant will enable the SBTC to serve more organizations in Danville, Pittsylvania and Caswell counties and support one of the major goals of the Foundation, strengthening our economy.”

The Danville Regional Foundation seeks to develop, promote and support activities that improve the health, education and well-being of the residents of the City of Danville and Pittsylvania County, VA and Caswell County, NC. The Foundation has awarded approximately $20.5 million to nine not-for-profit or government agencies since its founding in 2005.