Hamilton County recommends $196,511 in microgrants for 21 small businesses

Angela Rahman, the county’s Community Economic Development Administrator, presented the inaugural Microenterprise Advancement Program (MAP) and recommended awarding $196,511 to 21 microenterprises across Hamilton County.

"This is a new program for Hamilton County and this first cycle represents a significant milestone for our department," Rahman said, describing MAP’s three components: a business-planning and marketing class, capital grants up to $10,000, and ongoing support and check-ins with partner Alloy Development.

Rahman told the board the application window (May 4 to July 1) produced 44 applications, of which 23 were determined ineligible—mostly because applicants were outside the county’s CDBG-eligible jurisdictions or could not provide required information—leaving 21 that advanced to full committee review. Reviewers included Kelly Adamson, the county’s senior economic development officer, and Patrick Longo, president and CEO of Alloy Development; applications were scored for readiness, feasibility, and CDBG eligibility.

The review committee recommended full funding for 20 applicants and a partial award for one applicant, for a combined recommendation of $196,511. Rahman said the awards will pay for an assortment of business needs: marketing and website work, equipment such as a car lift for an auto mechanic, working capital, and occasionally rent assistance.

Rahman cautioned there are limits to what CDBG funds can pay for. "What we're not able to do with this CDBG money is help to improve the actual structures of the buildings because that just gets into Davis Bacon," she said, noting the program therefore prioritizes items that grantees can complete without extensive follow-up.

Commissioners praised the program’s design and timing. "We don't have the ARPA like we had before and we needed to find an innovative way to be able to still help small businesses," Commissioner Reece said, commending staff for creating a one-stop approach at Small Business Day and for reallocating funds so money would not be left on the table.

Rahman said Alloy offered makeup classes for applicants who could not attend the initial training, and that staff plan to monitor grantee spending and provide follow-up support over the next year. She told the board the MAP awards will be placed on the Thursday agenda for formal consideration if there are no objections.

The presentation documented the program’s geographic reach and jurisdictional limits: some municipalities (including Cincinnati, which runs its own CDBG program) did not participate and several places—Evendale, Blue Ash, and Indian Hill—were cited as locations whose businesses were ineligible under the county-administered CDBG eligibility rules.

Next steps: the board is scheduled to consider the recommended MAP awards at its Thursday meeting; Rahman said staff and Alloy will continue outreach and monitoring for awardees.