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Columbia County’s small‑business center rebrands, wins statewide innovation hub and expands loans and grants
Summary
Jason Moon, director of the Columbia County Small Business Resource Center, told the Economic Development Committee the center rebranded from the SBDC this summer, deployed technical assistance grants and grow loans, and secured Business Oregon backing as the new Northwest Innovation Hub to serve three coastal counties.
Jason Moon, director of the Columbia County Small Business Resource Center (SBRC), told the Columbia County Economic Development Committee on Sept. 18 that the center rebranded in July to gain more local flexibility and has expanded counseling, grants and loan programs for rural entrepreneurs.
Moon said the SBRC continues to offer free confidential one‑on‑one business advising and launched a new intake system. “My name is Jason Moon. I’m the director of Columbia County Small Business Resource Center,” he said during his presentation. He reported 480 total advising hours in the most recent fiscal year and about 141 new clients.
The SBRC’s Grow Greater program, funded in part by the Ford Family Foundation and facilitated with Community Lending Works, has delivered technical assistance grants and low‑cost loans. “We’ve been able to deploy, over $30,000 in technical assistance grants,” Moon said. He told the committee the program has facilitated 11 grow loans — typically up to $50,000 at 3 percent interest — which have leveraged about $550,000 in direct capital to local businesses.
Moon said the SBRC runs workshops and online content to build founder capacity and reduce startup friction. The center also supports capital access and job creation metrics and reported 26 workshops and a first countywide Small Business Resource Fair last year.
Committee members pressed Moon on local impact and barriers. Moon said several of the loans and a share of the $30,000 in TA grants went to Scappoose businesses but emphasized that regulation, permitting and a shortage of appropriately sized commercial space remain recurring obstacles. He recommended closer coordination among jurisdictions to simplify permitting and suggested listing SBRC resources on the city’s business application materials and app.
In a significant new development for regional entrepreneurship, Moon said Business Oregon awarded the SBRC the Northwest Innovation Hub designation, expanding its remit to serve Clatsop and Tillamook counties. The hub will focus on traded‑sector businesses and provide advising, commercialization coaching, pilot innovation sprints and pathways to capital. Moon outlined near‑term plans to stand up an intake system, publish a partner map and pilot two innovation sprints, with quarterly roundtables and metrics to measure companies served, projects advanced, capital accessed and jobs created.
What’s next: Moon said the SBRC will continue outreach to local city and county staff to improve permitting pathways and will run upcoming training and outreach events. Committee members asked staff to pursue simple, on‑application links to SBRC resources to make assistance more visible to prospective entrepreneurs.
