The MARK Project , a 501 c 3 Rural Preservation Company has been administering post flood grant programs through the Town of Middletown Small Business Development Fund since November of 2011. The fund was established through the philanthropic activity of two part time residents with matching funds provided by both Goya and the Goldman Sachs Gives Program. These grants are over and above donated flood relief monies that were redistributed to businesses, households, and not for profits and are targeted more towards small business expansion and development. To date the fund has distributed $134,705 in grants of up to $5,000 to 26 businesses in the Town of Middletown. “The injection of funds into these small businesses has been a lifeline in the rebuilding process” says Heather Brighton, President and CEO of the Brighton Group Inc and part time resident of Halcottsville. She adds, “My work on the Small Business Fund Committee has been both rewarding and a challenge as we look to the larger grant program to truly make an impact on small business development in the Town of Middletown”.
On March 24, MARK Project Executive Director Peg Ellsworth and Deputy Director Kent Brown held an application workshop to launch a new $25,000 competitive grant funding round and over twenty business owners and entrepreneurs were in attendance. “Some interesting business concepts were floated around during the workshop” said Ellsworth “ but the six weeks given to develop the application and a full blown business plan seemed to cause a bit of trepidation among some of the potential applicants.” With this in mind, Ellsworth went back the Fund Review Committee and requested a deadline extension. “I would hate to see some great ideas for new development or business expansion fall through the cracks because they were intimidated by the timeline or process” added Ellsworth. The Committee unanimously agreed to extend the deadline to May 15th. Subsequently, MARK is poised and ready to help. There is a list of resources on the MARK site and one-on-one assistance is available by calling MARK for an appointment with one of our business mentors. It should be noted that this program is only available to businesses located in the Town of Middletown.
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