Local Business Boost Program
A micro-grant program offering one-on-one technical assistance and implementation support to local businesses to help them gain a competitive advantage in an increasingly global marketplace.
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Boosting Local Growth
Since 2022, the Local Business Boost Program has offered targeted, one-on-one technical assistance and implementation support to small businesses in downtown Hyannis to assist in their continued growth and help them gain competitive advantage.
Rather than offering generalized workshops and advice, the program provided financial support and focused on actual implementation by engaging local service providers, creating a multiplier effect for the community.
Funding has been secured for Hyannis through grants available to Gateway Cities in Massachusetts. We are currently seeking funding to take this program Capewide.
The Program began as a partnership between the Hyannis Main Street Business Improvement District and Love Live Local with support from Amplify POC Cape Cod, the Town of Barnstable and MassDevelopment’s Transformative Development Initiative, and two grant cycles have been made possible due to funding received from the TDI Program as well as the State of Massachusetts through the Executive Office of Economic Development, an earmark in the Economic Development Bill made by Senator Julian Cyr, the Cape & Islands License Plate fund and the Cape Cod Foundation.
The 2022 pilot program awarded 7 grants. The 2023 awarded 20 more grants. Additional funds will need to be secured to continue the program in 2024.
"I loved the freedom I had to make the changes needed and appreciated the trust and support of Love Live Local and the BID during the process. The added dressing room has been a blessing for us as the line to try on clothes with one dressing room kept people waiting - sometimes as long as a half hour. We were so grateful to receive the funding to make their building better and were genuinely in awe of the generosity of such a program."
The goals of the program are to:
- Provide financial support to local businesses seeking to improve, enhance and elevate their current operations in their physical and/or online space.
- Focus on the implementation of technical assistance in local businesses’ digital and physical spaces.
- Engage with local service providers to implement the technical assistance in an effort to create a multiplier effect for the community.
- Help keep Cape Cod unique by supporting independent businesses in this era of standardization.
27
Grants Awarded
$156,000
Invested in Local Businesses
45
Local Service Providers Enlisted
44%
BIPOC-owned businesses
74%
Women-owned businesses
2
Years of impact
Local Boost Program Success Stories
Jayne Lemon started Rugged Up in 2017. It is a very unique business where she makes and sells handmade rugs and baskets made from all donated, unusable clothes and fabric. The store also carries art made by locals, also made from reclaimed materials.
- Post Date
- Tue, Jun 4
- Local Business Boost Program
Chantilly’s Bridal is a full-service bridal boutique opened in Hyannis by Maria-Alice Pereira and Maria Medeiros in 2006.
- Post Date
- Tue, Jun 4
- Local Business Boost Program
A retail store carrying country and western clothing for men, women, and children, including clothing, boots, hats, jewelry, and accessories. We also have an online store, using the product directly from our store. The store, which is owned by Debra Palino and opened in 2016, also has an ecommerce site that is operated internally.
- Post Date
- Tue, Jun 4
- Local Business Boost Program
Opened by Cape Cod native Jane Walsh in 1993, Red Fish Blue Fish is a gift shop that features works by local artists as well as an eclectic mix of witty and artful items from around the world.
- Post Date
- Mon, Jun 3
- Local Business Boost Program
Mrs. Mitchell's Gifts is a go-to stop for tourists and locals alike for all things Cape Cod. They offer a selection of Cape Cod quality souvenirs such as mugs, t-shirts, sweatshirts, keychains, magnets, seashells at affordable prices.
- Post Date
- Mon, Jun 3
- Local Business Boost Program