Press Release: 5/28/2025

Healey-Driscoll Administration Announces $6.7 Million to Support Small Business Services Statewide

 



Small Business Technical Assistance Program Awards Will Help 73 Nonprofits Deliver Technical Assistance, Business Skills Workshop Training, and Access to Financing to Small Businesses



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:



5/27/2025



MEDIA CONTACT



Brie Bristol, Deputy Director of Communications



 Online



Email Brie Bristol, Deputy Director of Communications at brie.bristol@mass.gov



Group photo at Small Business Technical Assistance Grant Celebration



WORCESTER, MASS. — Today, the Executive Office of Economic Development and MassDevelopment joined state and local officials in Worcester to announce $6,729,552 in grants to 73 nonprofits through MassDevelopment’s Small Business Technical Assistance Program (SBTA), which supports organizations that deliver technical assistance, training, and access to capital to Massachusetts small businesses. 



Interim Economic Development Secretary Ashley Stolba made today’s announcement at the Worcester Regional Food Hub, a recipient of a SBTA award. In total, five nonprofits in Worcester are receiving $577,788 in grants from this round of the SBTA grants. 



“This program is all about empowering our small businesses to do what they do best through increased access to technical assistance, workshops, and financing,” said Interim Economic Development Secretary Ashley Stolba, who serves as chair of MassDevelopment’s Board of Directors. “As we recognize Small Business Month and celebrate the many ways small businesses contribute to our economy, the Healey-Driscoll Administration is grateful to MassDevelopment and our nonprofit partners for administering this crucial support.”



“MassDevelopment is pleased to award $6.7 million in grants through our Small Business Technical Assistance Program and celebrate with award recipients today in Worcester,” said MassDevelopment President and CEO Navjeet Bal. “This funding will help nonprofits in every region of the state who are working hand in hand with small businesses to create jobs and drive economic growth. We are grateful to the Healey-Driscoll Administration and the legislature for their continued support of this small business resource.” 



Administered by MassDevelopment, the Small Business Technical Assistance Program was created in 2006 by the former Mass Growth Capital Corporation to empower small business support organizations, such as community development corporations and community development financial institutions, to increase access to business planning support and capital for underserved small businesses throughout the state. In February 2025, Mass Growth Capital Corporation merged with MassDevelopment, which now administers the program.



Ranging from $26,700 to $155,750, the grants awarded in this round will support the operational capacity of nonprofits with programming that addresses the needs of small businesses, with a focus on promoting job creation and economic growth. This programming can include one-on-one technical assistance, comprehensive business skills workshop training, and improved access to financing options. Additionally, the grants will enhance the nonprofits’ ability to deliver small business services through “train-the-trainer” learning opportunities in the form of workshop-style best practice discussions and courses in partnership with Bay Path University and The Mel King Institute. 



Examples of awarded projects include:




  • $89,000 to Artmorpheus Inc. in Boston, which will use funds to operate its co-working facility for artists/creative entrepreneurs and provide access to its Launchpad accelerator series, workshops, training, marketplace events, peer-to-peer learning, 1:1 mentoring, and more.

  • $155,750 to Hilltown CDC in Chesterfield, which will use funds to provide businesses with trainings in business planning, advertising, finance and accounting, securing financing, strategic review, computer literacy, and legal issues.

  • $155,750 to Entrepreneurship for All Merrimack Valley in Lowell, which will use funds to support underserved and underrepresented entrepreneurs through training cohorts and educational workshops covering marketing, relationship building, financial management, and loan packaging services.

  • $89,000 to New Bedford Economic Development Council Inc. in New Bedford, which will use funds for a program that prepares New Bedford-based small businesses to access capital for growth and expansion through 1:1 counseling and technical assistance.

  • $89,000 to Worcester Regional Food Hub in Worcester, which will use funds for an eight-week program covering food costing and basic accounting, the commercial kitchen, menu planning/scaling, culinary skills, customer delivery, digital marketing, front-of-house management, pop-up events, financing, insurance, and permitting/certifications.



"Small businesses are the backbone of Massachusetts's economy.  My mother was a small business owner for a majority of her career in Worcester, and so I have a particular appreciation for small businesses,” said State Representative James O’Day (14th Worcester). “My sincere congratulations to all of today's Small Business Technical Assistance Grant Awardees."



“These investments reflect the kind of targeted, high impact support our small business community needs and deserves. I’m especially proud to see funding go to organizations that serve women, communities of color, veterans, and immigrant entrepreneurs—groups that have historically been underrepresented in traditional economic development efforts,” said State Representative David LeBoeuf (17th Worcester). “By strengthening their ability to offer one-on-one technical assistance and workforce training, this funding will directly expand opportunity and economic mobility right here in Worcester.”



“We are so thankful for the ongoing support from Mass Development and the Executive Office of Economic Development,” said Worcester Food Hub Director Shon Rainford. “Without their support, we would fall short in our efforts to create opportunities for our diverse membership of food entrepreneurs, both programmatically as well as in our new physical location at Worcester's Union Station.”



Full list of awarded projects:




  • Trustees of Tufts College / New Entry Sustainable Farming Project (Beverly) – $84,441

  • African Community Economic Development of New England (Boston) – $89,000

  • Amplify LatinX (Boston) – $89,000

  • Artmorpheus Inc. (Boston) – $89,000

  • Arts & Business Council of Greater Boston Inc. (Boston) – $87,843

  • Ascendus (Boston) – $89,000

  • Asian American Civic Association Inc. (Boston) – $89,000

  • Black Economic Council of Massachusetts (Boston) – $89,000

  • Boston Center for Community Ownership (Boston) – $155,750

  • Boston Impact Initiative Fund (Boston) – $89,000

  • Boston Main Streets Foundation (Boston) – $89,000

  • Browning the Green Space (Boston) – $89,000

  • Center for Women & Enterprise (Boston) – $89,000

  • Codman Square Neighborhood Development Corporation (Boston) – $89,000

  • CommonWealth Kitchen (Boston) – $89,000

  • Dorchester Bay Neighborhood Loan Fund (Boston) – $89,000

  • GNEMSDC MASSACHUSETTS ADVISORS INC (Boston) – $89,000

  • Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce Foundation (Boston) – $155,750

  • Hispanic American Institute (Boston) – $89,000

  • Interise Inc. (Boston) – $89,000

  • Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corporation (Boston) – $89,000

  • MA LGBT Chamber of Commerce (Boston) – $89,000

  • Roads Consulting Group (Boston) – $89,000

  • The Asian Business Empowerment Council at the Boston Foundation Inc. (Boston) – $42,364

  • The Carrot Project (Boston) – $48,646

  • TLE Center for Urban Entrepreneurship (Boston) – $89,000

  • Uptima Entrepreneur Cooperative (Boston) – $71,200

  • Women of Color Entrepreneurs Inc. (Boston) – $89,000

  • Brookline Chamber of Commerce (Brookline) – $72,980

  • Local Enterprise Assistance Fund (Brookline) – $89,000

  • Cape & Islands Community Development Inc. (Centerville) – $89,000

  • La Colaborativa (Chelsea) – $88,110

  • Hilltown CDC (Chesterfield) – $155,750

  • Greater Chicopee Chamber of Commerce (Chicopee) – $155,750

  • Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (Deerfield) – $57,671

  • Community Development Partnership (Eastham) – $155,750

  • Bristol County Chamber Foundation (Fall River) – $89,000

  • NewVue Communities (Fitchburg) – $89,000

  • North Central Massachusetts Development Corporation (Fitchburg) – $89,000

  • South Middlesex Opportunity Council Inc. (Framingham) – $70,777

  • Berkshire Agricultural Ventures (Great Barrington) – $48,224

  • Franklin County Community Development Corporation (Greenfield) – $155,750

  • Nuestras Raices Inc. (Holyoke) – $89,000

  • Nectar Community Investments Inc. (Lawrence) – $89,000

  • Community Teamwork Inc. (Lowell) – $89,000

  • Entrepreneurship for All Merrimack Valley (Lowell) – $155,750

  • Greater Lynn Chamber of Commerce (Lynn) – $77,208

  • Community Economic Development Center (New Bedford) – $89,000

  • New Bedford Economic Development Council Inc. (New Bedford) – $89,000

  • Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art Foundation Inc. (North Adams) – $89,000

  • Cooperative Development Institute (Northampton) – $155,750

  • The ICA Group (Northampton) – $89,000

  • The Sphere Northampton (Northampton) – $89,000

  • Valley Community Development (Northampton) – $89,000

  • Berkshire Black Economic Council (Pittsfield) – $89,000

  • Pittsfield Economic Revitalization Corporation (Pittsfield) – $89,000

  • Neighborhood Housing Finance Corp (Quincy) – $89,000

  • North Shore Community Development Coalition (Salem) – $89,000

  • Salem Main Streets (Salem) – $26,700

  • East Somerville Main Streets (Somerville) – $31,150

  • Greentown Collaborative Inc. (Somerville) – $89,000

  • Greentown.org Inc (d.b.a. FORGE) (Somerville) – $89,000

  • Common Capital Inc. (Springfield) – $89,000

  • Latino Economic Development Corporation (Springfield) – $89,000

  • Wellspring Cooperative (Springfield) – $26,700

  • SEED Corp (Taunton) – $89,000

  • Quaboag Valley Community Development Corporation (Ware) – $66,750

  • Blackstone Valley Chamber of Commerce (Whitinsville) – $89,000

  • Latin American Business Organization Inc. (Worcester) – $155,750

  • Massachusetts Women of Color Coalition Inc. (Worcester) – $155,750

  • Southeast Asian Coalition of Central Massachusetts Inc. (Worcester) – $89,000

  • Venture Forum (Worcester) – $88,288

  • Worcester Regional Food Hub (Worcester) – $89,000



MassDevelopment, the state’s development finance agency and land bank, works with businesses, nonprofits, banks, and communities to stimulate economic growth across the state. During FY2024, MassDevelopment financed or managed 349 projects generating investment of more than $3.5 billion in the Massachusetts economy. These projects are estimated to create or support 22,426 jobs and build or preserve 1,754 housing units. In February 2025, the Massachusetts Growth Capital Corporation merged into MassDevelopment, enhancing the agency’s ability to support small businesses in Massachusetts through alternative funding, resources, and individualized services.