The Center for Economic Inclusion announced Thursday a new round of participants for its business accelerator program.
In its second round, the Vanguard Accelerator awarded more than $400,000 in grants, forgivable loans and development assistance toward 13 chosen businesses. In the first round in January, it awarded $450,000 in financial assistance to another group of business owners.
Recipients of the accelerator are eligible of one or more support functions, which include a $5,000 unrestricted grants, full tuition into a business accelerator based on the company's annual revenues, forgivable loans and development technical assistance, such as site development of the organization's brick-and-mortar space.
The program is run in partnership with San Diego-based nonprofit Founders First CDC and St. Paul real estate consultant NEOO Partners Inc.
St. Paul-based Center for Economic Inclusion is an organization dedicated to closing racial employment, income and wealth gaps while sparking inclusive economic growth.
“Inclusive growth is the only path to real and sustainable growth,” said Tawanna Black, founder and CEO of the Center for Economic Inclusion, in a statement. “This accelerator supports the Twin Cities’ economic growth by providing tangible and relevant resources to grow business – the connections, capacity, and capital that disparately eludes minority-owned enterprises.”
These are the recipients of the Vanguard Accelerator grants and their founders:
- Stanton Adams Consulting, a Crystal-based business management advising firm — Cecilia Stanton
- 7 Generation Games, a Minneapolis-based educational game developer — Maria Burns Ortiz
- Nativ3, a Minneapolis-based marketing agency — Jon Crappel
- Arubah Emotional Health Services, a Minneapolis-based mental health clinic — Anissa Keyes
- Blackbird Revolt, a Minneapolis-based graphic design agency — Terresa Moses
- Clutch Logistics, a Bloomington-based logistics firm — Antoinette Flores
- SnackChat Networking Lounge, a St. Paul-based restaurant, catering and commercial kitchen rental company — Tamara Taylor
- Global Language Connections, a Minneapolis-based translation company — Khadija Ali
- Moltron Builders, a Minneapolis-based construction firm — Babette Buckner
Four of the grant recipients (Stanton, Burns Ortiz, Keyes and Flores) were also chosen for the forgivable loans program. The two other loan recipients were Wendy Sullivan of Minneapolis-based construction firm Wenrich PD Construction and Damaris Hollingsworth of St. Louis Park-based architectural firm Design By Melo.
Keyes of Arubah Emotional Health Services was also named for the program’s site redevelopment service. Two other recipients were also chosen for site development: Veronica Anczarski of New Brighton-based wholesale bakery Solomon’s Bakery and Kali Terry of Minneapolis-based beverage brand Life Juices.
“This Accelerator is well-positioned to create real change in the MSP region,” said Kim Folsom, founder of Founders First CDC, in a statement. “As a long-time business owner, I know from experience that every cent matters when you are growing a business and no amount is too small to make an impact.”
