The Iowa Rural Development Council (IRDC) has received a $200,000 grant from Wells Fargo to establish a new program to support small-business development in rural Iowa communities.
According to a news release, the IRDC Rural Business Initiative will provide grants of at least $30,000 to community organizations that work with small businesses. The community organizations can direct the funding to local businesses to help with capital costs, soft costs, training or strategic planning.
“We think this is a chance to support places that are working to build their small-business environment, with an eye toward communities that have underrepresented populations among business owners or entrepreneurs,” IRDC board President Mark Reinig said in a prepared statement. “We’re also excited that Wells Fargo employees will have an opportunity to engage with these communities and small businesses.”
The program will select a handful of pilot communities for technical assistance, training and targeted grants intended to support small businesses and entrepreneurial development. The communities must be rural and located within 30 miles of an Iowa Wells Fargo branch office.
An application process for communities to express their interest opens today, with information located at www.iowardc.org.
The IRDC will collaborate with the Iowa Small Business Development Centers, the Iowa Center for Economic Success, state regents institutions and the state of Iowa to maximize resources to the pilot communities, the release said.