Resources

Bridging Virginia, a non-profit community development loan fund, is proud to provide access to affordable capital and technical assistance for historically marginalized small businesses and places.

Better Business Basics Plus

Believe in Bristol

Floyd C4 Program

Launch Something in Pulaski

VCEDA

Quickbooks

QuickBooks is a software that a business owner can use for financial record keeping.

Fractional CFO

Fractional CFO services offer as needed assistance in all accounting aspects. There are multiple companies online that you can engage by searching Fractional CFO.

IRS

The IRS website houses all of the information that you need regarding taxes.

Virginia Tax Information

The Virginia Tax website provides relevant information for business residents and businesses.

Virginia Enterprise Zone

Virginia Enterprise Zone (VEZ) program is a partnership between state and local government that encourages job creation and private investment. VEZ accomplishes this by designating Enterprise Zones throughout the state and providing two grant-based incentives, the Job Creation Grant (JCG) and the Real Property Investment Grant (RPIG), to qualified investors and job creators within those zones, while the locality provides local incentives.

Virginia Tourism Growth Fund

The Virginia Tourism Growth Fund (VTGF) is a Virginia Tourism Corporation program established to grow tourism development projects in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Eligible projects include new or expanded facilities or venues for lodging, recreation, entertainment, epicurean, cultural, or destination retail products or services designed to attract travelers to the Commonwealth.

Virginia Tourism Marketing Leverage Program

The Virginia Tourism Corporation (VTC) Marketing Leverage Program is designed to stimulate new tourism marketing programs through the creation of tourism partnerships and to extend the “Virginia is for Lovers” campaign. The objective of this program is to leverage limited marketing dollars, resulting in increased visitor spending, revenue, and jobs.

Wise County Loan Fund

Dickenson County Loan Fund

Scott County Loan Fund

Tazewell County Loan Fund

Smyth County Loan Fund

460 Angels

Funding and coaching of early stage hi-tech entrepreneurs.

Angel Fund

An angel investor (aka “angel”) is an affluent individual or private entity who provides capital for a business start-up and early stage growth, usually in exchange for convertible debt or ownership equity. A small but increasing number of angel investors organize themselves into angel groups or angel networks – commonly called “angel funds” – to share research and pool their investment capital, as well as to provide advice to their portfolio companies.

Center for Innovative Technology Gap Funds

CIT GAP Funds makes seed-stage equity investments in Virginia-based technology and life science companies.

Ninth District Development Financing

The Ninth District Development Financing provides funding for a diverse set of thriving tourist related businesses including arts, cultural, historical, outdoor adventure, and entertainment venues, Ninth District Development Financing, Inc. meets its objectives to create and retain jobs, promote the region’s historical significance and cultural preservation, and attract tourists while supporting and expanding the tourism economy of the Ninth District.

People Incorporated

People Incorporated of Virginia, one of the Commonwealth of Virginia’s largest and most successful Community Action Agencies. People Incorporated offers over 32 programs designed to, “give people a hand up, not a hand out.” People Incorporated Financial Services offers loans, development services and financial products to small and emerging businesses. People Incorporated Financial Services works to strengthen local economies in 22-jurisdiction service areas including the counties of Bland, Buchanan, Carroll, Dickenson, Floyd, Grayson, Lee, Russell, Scott, Smyth, Tazewell, Washington, Wise, and Wythe and the cities of Bristol, Galax and Norton in Southwest Virginia and the counties of Clarke, Frederick, Page, Shenandoah, and Warren in the Northern Shenandoah Valley.

Virginia Community Capital (VCC) is a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) with a mission to create jobs, energize places, and promote an enhanced quality of life for Virginians. With offices in Christiansburg, Richmond, and Norfolk, we offer innovative and flexible financing tools throughout the state. In addition, we provide professional advisory services to individuals and organizations in low-to-moderate income and underserved communities.

Sandy Ratliff is the Community Impact Advisor with Virginia Community Capital providing technical assistance, professional training and access to capital to new and existing businesses through VCC’s New Economy Loan Fund for projects in coal-impacted counties in within Southwest Virginia. Her 27 years’ experience in economic and small business development, make her the go to person for business and community leaders. Contact her at (276) 477-3999 or sratliff@vccva.org

Planning District Commissions (PDC) provide the link between federal and state programs and the local level, where development actually occurs.

Southwest Virginia Planning District Commissions: 

Cumberland Plateau Planning District
LENOWISCO Planning District
Mount Roger PDC
New River Valley Regional Commission

The Industrial Revitalization Fund (IRF) leverages local and private resources to achieve market-driven redevelopment of vacant and deteriorated industrial and commercial properties.

The program is targeted toward vacant industrial structures whose poor condition creates physical and economic blight to the surrounding area in which the structure is located. Eligible properties shall include those formerly used for manufacturing, warehousing, mining, transportation and power production, as well as large-scale white elephant structures, such as department stores, theaters, hotels and shopping centers. Structures whose original intended use was solely residential are not eligible.

Remnants of past economic vibrancy and local economies in transition, these structures are no longer suited for their former purpose, and in their current deteriorated condition, stand as a significant deterrent for future economic opportunity in the surrounding area and region. The maximum level of funding is $500,000.

The Virginia Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program provides funding to eligible units of local government for planning and implementing projects that address critical community development needs, including housing, infrastructure and economic development. The goal of the CDBG Program is to improve the economic and physical environment in Virginia’s communities through activities which primarily benefit low- and moderate-income persons, prevent or eliminate slums and blighting conditions or meet urgent needs which threaten the welfare of citizens.

The Community Business Launch (CBL) is designed to assist communities in taking a systems approach to defining and pursuing an asset-based small business development strategy. The program starts with a community’s unique vision for its future and then uses a local business competition to find and foster the entrepreneurs that connect with that vision. CBL will provide the tools to effectively prepare multiple entrepreneurs to operate successful businesses in a downtown or neighborhood commercial district and allow them to compete for funding to start up their new endeavor.

While only a limited number of entrepreneurs may win the business competitions, CBL will give rise to many budding entrepreneurs that have been prepared, through the CBL initiative, to be successful businesses. In addition, it will help communities begin to develop a coordinated, comprehensive sustainable environment that identifies, launches and supports community-based entrepreneurs and small business at all levels of development.

Building Entrepreneurial Economies  is the next evolution of Virginia’s commitment to micro-entrepreneurship. Formerly known as Virginia Enterprise Initiative (VEI), BEE is taking a more local approach to developing stronger businesses that help build stronger communities.

BEE provides grants and technical assistance to regional and local micro-enterprise development organizations (MDOs) that specialize in assisting non-traditional entrepreneurs. This assistance includes pre-concept counseling, business plan development, credit repair and counseling, credit access and continuing technical assistance. To deliver these services, the MDOs also partner with banks, area businesses, educational institutions, each other and/or other private and public entities within the community. These organizations provide a service that often is not otherwise available and are designed to support the entrepreneur, even after accessing capital. VEI seeks to engage MDOs that provide innovative processes to attract and assist micro-entrepreneurs.

Building Collaborative Communities is designed to assist regions in creating and sustaining new economic opportunities across Virginia. The program promotes regional economic collaborations in economically-distressed areas to stimulate job creation, economic development and build community capacity and leadership.

Building Collaborative Communities is a broad-based program that that provides the financial and technical resources from a number of state entities. By working collaboratively, regions are able to capitalize upon the regional place based assets that create appealing and unique communities where people want to live and work.

These AFID Planning Grants give local governments the flexibility to undertake the kind of planning, study, or local initiative they think best to grow and support agriculture and forestry-based businesses in their community and region.  The planning grant program also provides a greater voice in local economic development to agriculture and forestry stakeholders by requiring that any grant funded program be implemented by a board, committee or working group representing agriculture and/or forestry interests in the affected locality.  For additional information about the program and the application workshops, e-mail Stephen Versen, AFID program contact at the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) at stephen.versen@vdacs.virginia.gov.

Links:
Application

The Virginia Employment Commission website provides accurate information regarding unemployment insurance.

Virginia Community Capital (VCC) is a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) with a mission to create jobs, energize places, and promote an enhanced quality of life for Virginians. With offices in Christiansburg, Richmond, and Norfolk, we offer innovative and flexible financing tools throughout the state. In addition, we provide professional advisory services to individuals and organizations in low-to-moderate income and underserved communities.

Sandy Ratliff is the Community Impact Advisor with Virginia Community Capital providing technical assistance, professional training and access to capital to new and existing businesses through VCC’s New Economy Loan Fund for projects in coal-impacted counties in within Southwest Virginia. Her 27 years’ experience in economic and small business development, make her the go to person for business and community leaders. Contact her at (276) 477-3999 or sratliff@vccva.org

People Incorporated of Virginia is one of the Commonwealth of Virginia’s largest and most successful Community Action Agencies. People Incorporated offers over 32 programs designed to, “give people a hand up, not a hand out.” People Incorporated Financial Services offers loans, development services and financial products to small and emerging businesses. People Incorporated Financial Services works to strengthen local economies in 22-jurisdiction service areas including the counties of Bland, Buchanan, Carroll, Dickenson, Floyd, Grayson, Lee, Russell, Scott, Smyth, Tazewell, Washington, Wise, and Wythe and the cities of Bristol, Galax and Norton in Southwest Virginia and the counties of Clarke, Frederick, Page, Shenandoah, and Warren in the Northern Shenandoah Valley.