What Local Entrepreneurs Have to Say
Success Stories
Since the inception of the Grant programs in 2015, more than $1.8 million has been awarded in 300+ grants to small business and agricultural operations in Orange County.
Michelle Webb and Stevie Lee Webb
The Cheese Shop, cheeseshopnc.com
“We started as a pop-up in spring 2022 and quickly expanded to a brick and mortar in 2023. Our new, expanded Carrboro location, including North Carolina’s first and only stand-alone cheese bar, will open in fall 2024. We were thrilled to use our grant in support of media relations to create initial buzz about the opening of our second location. … This helped raise our local and regional profile during the holiday season, which helped quadruple our sales in Q4 2023 and allowed us to hire a part-time shop associate.”
Photo by Stacey Sprenz.
Cash Cole, Mike Benson, Brett White, Anna Farmer and Chip Hoppin
Lapin Bleu, @lapinbleumidway
Mission: To support the local economy through robust event programming including live music as well as an artists wall (through which local artists display and sell work), and to provide a welcoming gathering space for all members of the Chapel Hill and Carrboro community.
"We received the funds [in summer 2023]. We used those funds to purchase a kegerator, which is a beer cooler for draft beer, and this is a critical piece of equipment for a bar. We had this major expense that was more than the grant, but because we received the funds we were able to offset some of that cost and continue to operate throughout the summer and fall."
Smita Patel
Nomad, thenomadnc.com
Mission: To thrive as a restaurant, where folks can seek delicious culinary experiences that they haven't encountered elsewhere, and also a hub for the Hillsborough community.
"We opened right during the pandemic. We had to come up with a plan to pivot, sustain and survive. Before the restaurant opened, our plan was to for the patio to be a warm and welcoming space for the community. With the pandemic, we weren't able to financially meet that dream, and so the grant funding was used to build out the patio. Our goals are to continue to sustain ourselves and grow with the community ... We want to bring our passion for food and service and elevate that to a level people haven't experienced elsewhere. Hopefully that creates a memory or long-lasting [impression people seek out] for years to come."
Tim Schwarzauer
Dingo Dog Brewing Company, dingodogbrewing.com
Dingo Dog, North Carolina's first nonprofit brewery and winery, provides grants for no-kill animal rescue organizations. Its taproom, which is supplied through a minimal-waste brewing operation on PlowGirl Farm, channels proceeds toward this impactful cause. Additionally, PlowGirl Farm's homegrown produce is incorporated in Dingo Dog's craft beer and cider, ensuring a sustainable approach to production.
"We received an Orange County grant [in 2023] to help [us expand] our patio space. We are also using those funds to expand our footprint and take over additional space next door so that we can host more private and community events. Our biggest mission is generating revenue funds for our charity to give grants to animal rescue groups, and we hope that as we grow, that will continue to grow. We're also hoping to host more events on our farm, and create that as a community space. It's a beautiful piece of property and we would love to be able to showcase it and Orange County in that way."
Isaiah Allen and Whitney Allen
Rocky Run Farm, rockyrunfarmnc.com
Mission: To grow "good, honest food" including fruits, vegetables and livestock by utilizing sustainable farming practices without the use of synthetic fertilizers or pesticides.
"We stumbled on this piece of land randomly [while searching for a farm]. ... One step at a time, we built what we have today. One goal is to be a model for people to see that two people starting from scratch can build a farm and make a living. We continue to do that through grant funds, which have helped out a lot, as well as budgeting, saving our money and being really smart with our purchases."
Katy Poitras
Cat Tales Cat Cafe, cattalescatcafe.com
Cat Tales works to find forever homes for cats while providing a safe, happy environment while they wait to find their perfect person. The cafe partners with Beautiful Together Animal Sanctuary to identify cats in shelters in critical need of a second chance, then provides care and places them with foster families before facilitating quality adoptions. The cafe setting provides a space for guests to soak up a visit among the cats and, in turn, socialize them to humans and make them more adoptable.
Vimala Rajendran
Vimala's Curryblossom Café, curryblossom.com
Mission: To prioritize sustainability, accessibility, worker and social justice while serving delicious local food in a warm, hospitable atmosphere that fosters community.
"[This year marks] 13 years since we've opened [the cafe]. I am committed to local agriculture, the local economy and growing the community around wholesome, healthy food. The food we serve is the same food that I served my children as I raised them in this town. ... The love and care I put into the food that came to my table is the same love and care I put into sourcing the food from local farmers and serving the community. Before the pandemic, we received an Orange County Economic Development Grant, with which we bought two pieces of equipment; a large tilt pan that helps us make huge amounts of food, [which] according to health regulations, we're supposed to cool in a timely manner. So, we bought an ice machine with the rest of the money."
Stephanie Alston
Black Girl Group, blackgirlgroup.net
Black Girl Group is on a mission to connect men and women of racially diverse backgrounds to companies seeking to hire or outsource more diverse talent.
"I used my grant funds to hire a business development team. Our revenue increased 5x off that one grant. Orange County chose me. The opportunity to relocate to Orange County showed up for my family and I right before the pandemic began and it has been the best decision of my life."
Mark Overbay and Megan Overbay
Big Spoon Roasters, bigspoonroasters.com
Mission: To build a healthier relationship with our planet through delicious, nutritious foods made without compromise.
"We found the forever home for our business here in Orange County. It’s the perfect building, it’s the perfect location, and we have been so pleased because of the incredibly supportive business community. The grant money we received allowed us to hire people ahead of the busy holiday season, before there was some growth in our business, and train them – when you have a handcrafted product, training is a big part of what we do – so that they were ready to do the work."
Kamal Bell
Sankofa Farms, sankofafarms.com
The mission of Sankofa Farms is to get people who are affected by food deserts access to healthy, nutritious food. Through that mission, we've seen that there's an intersection of policy, education, Black land laws and entrepreneurship.
"We've been in operation since 2016 when we first purchased the farm. Everything was covered in trees. In the past seven years, we've slowly built greenhouses and hot tunnels and also implemented a sustainable farming system. We used our grant funds to install irrigation. We were dry farmers the first four years, but now we have automatic irrigation and a well that is 125 feet deep that pumps out a lot of water for us."
Financial Resources for Your Business
Apply for Grants
Are you in the early stages of your business operation and need a little financial support to grow? Are you an established business looking to diversify your services? Do you operate a farm and have a project you are looking to invest in? If any of these sound like you, one of our grant programs may be able to help your business take it's next step forward.
What Grants are Available?
Online applications are accepted quarterly. Assistance with the application process is available.
Business Investment Grants
Priority will be given to ventures demonstrating a clear need for grant funds to grow their business, hire additional staff, grow the commercial tax base, and/or create a significant social and economic impact in the County.
- Startup Grants up to $1,500
- Small Grants $1,500-$5,000
- Large Grants $5,001-$10,000
Agricultural Grants
Applicants must be able to demonstrate that their operation is a verifiable farm business. The farm tract and farming operation on which the funds are to be used must be in Orange County.
SizeUp Orange County
Free Business Software
SizeUp Orange County provides powerful market research and business intelligence that is both industry specific and hyperlocal. It includes the same and similar data that is used by huge corporations, but which has been historically inaccessible to small businesses because of the cost and expertise required to analyze data.
SizeUp helps Orange County businesses and aspiring entrepreneurs by providing industry data analysis. You can:
- Discover potential customers and suppliers
- Optimize advertising and marketing to ideal customers.
- Analyze the characteristics and spending of consumers in the area.
- Use objective industry data to validate or reject assumptions about future business performance.
- Existing businesses can rank industry performance across multiple measurements.
Check out the the SizeUp Resources: