An accelerator and nonprofit organization that works with local small business owners and entrepreneurs has received a six-figure grant from Hamilton County and will use the funds to expand its programming into two predominantly Black communities in Greater Cincinnati.
Mortar, which offers programming and other services to support urban founders, recently received a $100,000 community development block grant from Hamilton County, the first time the organization has received the public funds and the second time Mortar had applied.
Vic Mullins, Mortar’s development director, told me the group will use the money to expand its cohort program, or entrepreneurship academy, to Forest Park and Lincoln Heights.
The news is significant in several ways. It represents the first time Mortar is holding programming in these respective communities, she said. It also expands the cohort’s reach outside the Cincinnati city limits, where it has traditionally lived.
“Forest Park and Lincoln Heights used to be thriving African-American entrepreneurial centers where lots of small mom-and-pop businesses existed, and over time, both have seen a drastic decrease even though they are still predominantly Black,” Mullins said. “We saw an opportunity to bring some of that spirit back.”
In total, 30 entrepreneurs – split evenly between each community – will participate in the 15-week cohort starting mid-March. The classes will be held virtually, due to Covid, one day a week for three hours a session. Tuition is $295 per participant. Interested entrepreneurs can still apply through Feb. 19 on Mortar’s website.
The cohort program will conclude with a pitch night. Five entrepreneurs from each group will present their businesses ideas for a chance at a cash prize pool.
The county funding will help offset the community’s cost to host the program, which often can be a barrier, Mullins said. She said Mortar is also looking at ways to address various connectivity issues in both locations.
“We’re hoping to establish some sort of long-term presence, although we’re pretty early in those talks,” she said. “We’re hoping to build relationships that allow us to cross the city in a deeper way.”
Mullins said Mortar wrote the grant application because it wanted to capitalize on the recent boom in entrepreneurship spurred by Covid-19. Mullins said the group has seen an influx of people interested in starting new businesses.
“More people are interested in leaning into small business ownership as a way of making their ends meet, especially given that they’ve seen a reduction in their work hours, or in their employment altogether,” Mullins said. “It’s exciting that Hamilton County saw a need to support new entrepreneurs just as much as existing ones.”
Mortar is one of Cincinnati’s most visible startup groups. It has graduated 300 entrepreneurs and businesses since its founding in 2014, including Esoteric Brewing, Black Owned Outerwear, Sweets & Meats BBQ and Jazzy Sweeties, and its entrepreneurs have created 155 local jobs. Mortar maintains physical offices in Over-the-Rhine, Uptown and Walnut Hills, with a new headquarters in Pendleton.
