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Board members propose workshops, bank partnerships and newsletter to boost applicant readiness
Summary
Members of the South Dallas Fair Park Opportunity Fund Board described outreach and partner-based ideas to help prospective applicants prepare stronger economic-development and NOFA proposals; staff said a website refresh and a one-stop small-business portal are in development and the department has two small-business staff.
Board members discussed outreach and subcommittee activity at the April 28 meeting and proposed steps to improve applicant readiness for both NOFA grants and economic-development loans.
Cece Encarnacion (marketing/business development subcommittee) described meetings with local organizations that provide business education and financial counseling and argued the board should leverage existing resources rather than recreate them. She suggested warm referrals to programs at local banks and community partners, curating a regular newsletter to publicize training and application-help opportunities, hosting low-barrier events at community bank locations, and creating "accountability buddy" pairings or recurring workshop time so entrepreneurs complete application materials. "A lot of time I heard multiple times that entrepreneurs, small businesses require lots of follow ups when they're kind of in a development stage," she said.
Chairwoman Kimberly Sims offered to help with quick-turnaround graphics and materials: she said she has design tools and can assist staff when rapid production is needed. Staff said they are exploring a dedicated small-business portal and a website refresh that is expected to go live by late summer. Heather (Office of Economic Development) said the department currently has two small-business staff, anticipates partnering with Dallas College and can use city communications for graphics, but that the department does not have budget for a full-time marketing person.
Board members and staff discussed practical next steps: compiling a contact list of past applicants and interested parties, holding recurring informational sessions, and using partners such as Vista Bank, Comerica and local entrepreneurship media to publicize events and training. Staff said Nicholas is working on a contact list in Salesforce to capture interactions and that staff can circulate subcommittee notes to the full board.
Why it matters: Board members said better outreach and structured, repeated training will create a stronger, more evaluable applicant pool and reduce repeated back-and-forth during application completeness reviews.
