Board expands small business support
Fairfax County plans to roll out the Fairfax Founders Fund this fall to provide seed capital for innovative and early-stage businesses. The funds will be focused on underrepresented communities that have struggled to obtain early-stage financing from traditional lending sources.
The Board of Supervisors committed $1 million from its Economic Opportunity Reserve Fund for the Founders Fund pilot program.
The fund will provide technical assistance grants of up to $50,000 to help new businesses prepare for later-stage investment. The funds will target technology startups.
The program is designed to bolster economic development by growing local innovation-based businesses. It will connect young businesses with funding, local programs, and partners.
Recipients will be able to use the resources for commercialization and market entry, including prototype development, market intelligence, or technology validation.
Applicants must provide a 50 percent match, which can be in capital or “sweat equity.”
Targeted outreach will focus on recruiting women, people of color, veterans, and other underrepresented groups in the technology-based business community.
Related story: Fairfax County awards $16 million to 1,000+ businesses
Applicants must be a legally existing entity registered to do business in Virginia; have one or more locations; have a valid business, professional, and occupational license; and no more than $250,000 gross revenue in the previous 12 months.
The Board of Supervisors also agreed to allocate $7 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to create the Thrive Small Business Program. Thrive will launch this fall.
Thrive builds on the county’s two previous small business Covid relief programs – Rise and Pivot – to provide direct support to small businesses as they adjust to the negative economic impacts of the pandemic.
The county allocated $25 million in ARPA funds to the Pivot program, which awarded nearly $17 million to 1,016 small businesses. After administrative costs, $7 million remained, which will be used for Thrive.
The Thrive program will provide business counseling services and technical assistance to help small businesses (with 50 or fewer employees) meet their business goals.