Scan this QR code to fill out an application for the Graham County Small Business Grant.
Robbinsville – If you’re a small business owner who has struggled with infrastructure in and surrounding the limits of the county seat, help is available.
The aptly-named “Graham County Small Business Grant” has been waiting for applicants to sign up since the end of 2023, when money was set aside by the board of commissioners and strictly allocated for those who are trying to get their shop off the ground.
Mountain West Partnership Director Josh Carpenter – a county native, who has also been working on a contract basis as the local economic development director – cited that 85 percent of the businesses in the region are classified as “small,” which includes having 10 employees or less.
“Small businesses are the ones that need support,” Carpenter noted.
A large drive behind the initiative is to help improve digital infrastructure. Thanks to a hub across from the community building on Knight Street, Sylva-based BalsamWest can bring small businesses online with fiber-optic internet, which is already buried directly underneath Rodney Orr Bypass, Tallulah Road and along the major roadways (U.S. Highway 129 and N.C. highways 28 and 143) in Graham County.
Some of the funding available through the grant can be credited to BalsamWest’s lease with the county for the property the hub sets on; another source is leftover assistance procured during the various stages of the pandemic.
But the grant can be accessed for more than internet: eligible businesses can secure assistance with equipment purchases, building improvements, training and workforce development, water and sewer upgrades and renovations to a building’s facade.
Each applicant must be reviewed by the county’s economic development board, then approved by the board of commissioners.
To qualify, start-up owners simply need to meet the following criteria:
* Business has to be in operation for more than one year;
* Located in Graham County;
* Have a long-term plan, and;
* Create and retain jobs.
“All of those criteria will be looked at on a case-by-case basis,” Carpenter added.
For more details, call the Mountain West Partnership at 828-586-1962.