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Enterprise Center highlights job creation, child‑care grants and mentorship; county questions long‑term funding for women’s business center
Summary
Jeff Shackleford, CEO of the Enterprise Center, told the Board of County Commissioners that the center’s FY2026 recommended grant request is $682,175 (flat) and outlined small‑business grants, a childcare expansion that produced 1,665 spots, mentoring and access‑to‑capital programs.
Jeff Shackleford, CEO of the Enterprise Center, told the Board of County Commissioners on May 22 that the center’s FY2026 recommended grant request is $682,175 (flat from prior years) and summarized programs aimed at growing local businesses and expanding child‑care capacity.
Shackleford said the Enterprise Center administered federal and county funds to deliver grants to roughly 1,575 small businesses during the COVID period, and led an ARPA‑funded childcare initiative that the center reports created about 1,665 new child‑care spots by supporting providers with grants and technical assistance. The center operates business‑start classes (LaunchU), a structured mentoring program with about 54 volunteer mentors and cohort support for roughly 22 companies at a time, and runs a capital‑access and bank‑readiness program.
Commissioners asked how the Enterprise Center tracks jobs and outcomes: Shackleford said the SBA‑affiliated Women’s Business Center uses a required outcomes system (Outcome Tracker) for counseling and mentoring, and that grant recipients supplied rosters and documentation on employees and sales for the small‑business grant programs. He said the center typically reports a $3.50–$4 return in outside funding for every county dollar it receives over recent years, though large historic ROI calculations were not updated.
Commissioners raised longer‑term funding questions. Shackleford said the Women’s Business Center faces uncertain SBA funding and the Enterprise Center applied for a $250,000 proposal from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation to sustain that work; he said the center seeks philanthropic support and is considering programmatic adjustments if federal funds lapse. Commissioner Burd emphasized the risk of losing services that support women‑owned businesses and home‑based childcare providers; Commissioner Ashcraft and others suggested exploring different business models and partnership arrangements with chambers or cities. No change to the FY2026 recommended contribution was made during the meeting.
