A planned entrepreneurship and small business support program at Fusion 54 has received money from the Montgomery County Council.
The council voted 6-0, with member David Hunt absent, to spend $15,000 from the county’s riverboat fund to help launch the programs for aspiring business owners and established merchants.
Crawfordsville Mayor Todd Barton has pledged the city will match the funding. The partnership between the county and city is part of the broader effort to spur more economic development in the community.
Designed by Tennessee-based company CO.STARTERS, the programs offer advice to entrepreneurs developing business ideas and assistance to businesses on the road to recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I think after yesterday’s meeting, it’s clear that Montgomery County is not going to grow across without Crawfordsville and vice-versa, so I mean … funding a project like this falls under the right thing to do,” councilman Gary Booth said.
Booth was referring to Monday’s joint meeting of the Board of Commissioners, County Council, Redevelopment Commission and Regional Sewer District to discuss attracting jobs and housing, where the programs were touted as a positive step.
Council president Tom Mellish said the programs, while possibly recruiting entrepreneurs from surrounding areas, would help existing businesses that are looking to expand or receive more training.
More than 4.3 million new business applications were filed in the United States last year, according to federal data, up from 3.4 million in 2019.
In Indiana, applications climbed 34% over the same period to the highest level since at least 2007, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
While figures for last year’s Montgomery County applications have not been released, the number is expected to go up, mirroring the increase in new businesses seen after the Great Recession.
The programs are expected to get underway before June once the rest of the funding is secured.
“It’s more than $15,000 — it’s the city and county showing their support for small businesses and entrepreneurship,” Fusion 54 director Jim Johnson said.
