Explanation
Background: This legislation authorizes the Director of the Department of Development to enter into a contract with The Columbus Urban League in the amount up to $125,000.00 for the purpose of providing funding to the Columbus Region Minority Business Assistance Center (MBAC) for their Resiliency Focus Project for Minority & Women & Small Businesses to remediate the impact of the COVID-19 crisis and to authorize the appropriation and expenditure in an amount up to $125,000.00 from the Neighborhood Economic Development fund.
The Columbus Urban League is the host of the Columbus Region Minority Business Assistance Center, servicing the needs of Ohio’s small, minority, and socially economically disadvantaged businesses. The Center provides important services including technical assistance, professional consulting, access to capital and assistance obtaining contract opportunities. A primary objective of the program is to identify emerging businesses and cultivate growth and sustainability. The realization of this objective will strengthen the minority business community, support job creation and further economic growth in Columbus as well as the State of Ohio. The Columbus Region Minority Business Assistance Center is committed to establishing a network of industry partners to ensure that MBAC clients receive the assistance needed to sustain and grow.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the CUL/MBAC has created the Resiliency Focus Project for Minority & Women & Small Businesses to remediate the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on small businesses owned by minorities and women. The City of Columbus and Franklin County are sponsoring this program. The new program will:
· provide access of immediate, personalized business counseling and technical assistance to eligible businesses through one on one and group counseling to identify strategies to remain operational and profitable during the COVID-19 crisis.
· identify specially targeted financial...
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