Elgin Area Chamber of Commerce Receives Cook County Grant to Support Small Businesses
The Elgin Area Chamber of Commerce has been selected to receive a Cook County Small Business Source Grant to support Elgin small businesses in Cook County.
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle recently shared details about a $37 million dollar investment to support a network of over 30 business support organizations and forthcoming small business grants through the Cook County Small Business Resource.
Elgin Area Chamber President and CEO Carol Gieske said, “Elgin small businesses are the backbone of our community providing jobs to our neighbors while sustaining the local economy. A significant percentage of growth in Elgin happens not because of the large businesses but because of the many small businesses that are at the heart of this community.”
The grant provides resources for businesses to overcome the challenges caused by the pandemic and establish long-term strategies and practices. “In addition, a new grant opportunity, The Cook County Small Business Source Grow Grant, provides $10,000 grants to small businesses, coupled with advising and coaching services, to foster their recovery and resiliency from the pandemic, scale their operations and thrive in Cook County,” said Gieske. Applications are currently being accepted at www.cookcountysmallbiz.org.
“Our American Rescue Plan Act investment in small businesses through the Cook County Small Business Source will be groundbreaking and transformative to local businesses, the backbone of our communities,” said Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle. “The Source, as we call it, will help small businesses access the funding and services they need to continue to weather the ongoing storms of COVID-19. We’re aiming to help these businesses establish long-term infrastructure to thrive and build community wealth over time.”
This initiative shows Elgin’s continued commitment to the small business community in response to the pandemic and beyond. The resourceful website allows small businesses to receive free business advising services, learn about grant opportunities and upcoming events.
“Our role is to communicate with businesses in the Cook County Elgin area about this new opportunity and the many services available to help them to continue to grow,” says Tony Lucenko, Director of Elgin Development Group, a division of the Chamber. “We encourage small businesses to call us at 847-741-5660 but we will also be doing outreach directly to them to share the information.”
Elgin small businesses can also take advantage of free support, such as grant application assistance, access to online toolkits and checklists and small group webinars. The Elgin Development Group will be reaching out and visiting Elgin small business located in Cook County over the next several months to refer them to the website for assistance. “Our goal is to continuously offer assistance to as many small businesses as we can by referring them not only to the county website but through personal contact as we have done in the past,” said Tony Lucenko, Elgin Development Group Director.
