$4.5M for Small Business Services Statewide

March 03, 2026

Kiara Ford, 978-844-1380
kford@massdevelopment.com

BOSTON – Today, MassDevelopment announced $4,455,000 in grants from the Small Business Technical Assistance Program to help 55 community and economic development organizations that provide services to Massachusetts small businesses.

The grants, ranging from $40,000 to $104,000, will help the organizations expand advising, training, and capital access programs for businesses with fewer than 20 employees. Funding supports one-on-one technical assistance, business skills workshops and improved pathways to financing, helping small and microbusinesses start, stabilize, and grow.

In addition, the program funds professional development for service providers through “train-the-trainer” opportunities, including workshops, peer learning, and partnerships with educational institutions. The Massachusetts Association of Community Development Corporations, an association of mission-driven community development organizations, will receive $65,000 in funding from the SBTA program to administer this professional development and capacity-building programming for business-serving organizations.

“Massachusetts’ competitiveness depends on the strength of our small businesses,” said Governor Maura Healey. “These grants will help entrepreneurs access the expertise and financing pathways that turn ideas into growing companies and jobs across the state.”

“From Gateway Cities to rural towns, small businesses are driving innovation and opportunity in every corner of Massachusetts,” said Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll. “This funding will strengthen the nonprofit partners who help entrepreneurs build skills, access capital, and take the next step toward long-term growth.”

“Small businesses succeed when entrepreneurs have access to the right expertise and the capital to act on it,” said Economic Development Secretary Eric Paley, who serves as chair of MassDevelopment’s Board of Directors. “This program connects business owners with the training, technical support and financing pathways that can make the difference between an idea and a growing company.”

“Massachusetts is fortunate to have a large ecosystem of organizations that provide high-touch, high-impact programming aimed at empowering and addressing the needs of small businesses,” said MassDevelopment President and CEO Navjeet Bal. “Grants from our Small Business Technical Assistance Program enable these organizations to deliver and improve their programming, helping small businesses meet their goals and succeed in our state.”

Administered by MassDevelopment on behalf of the Commonwealth, the Small Business Technical Assistance Program was created in 2006 by the former Mass Growth Capital Corporation to empower small business support organizations, such as community development corporations, community development financial institutions, and other nonprofit business service providers, to increase access to business planning support and capital for underserved small businesses throughout the state. Last year, in Fiscal Year 2025, MassDevelopment awarded $6.7 million in grants from the Small Business Technical Assistance Program to 73 organizations; this funding helped grant recipients deliver assistance to 4,740 small businesses across Massachusetts and unlock a total of $116,948,899 in capital to help these companies meet their goals.

Examples of awarded projects include:

•    $93,000 to Boston Center for Community Ownership in Boston, which will use funds to support specialized technical assistance services to cooperative businesses concentrated on business readiness and formation, financial health and capital readiness, market access and customer growth, and organizational capacity building.

•    $94,200 to Nectar Community Investments in Lawrence, which will use funds to provide a range of advisory services aimed at increasing access to capital and capital readiness to historically disinvested entrepreneurs and their communities.

•    $95,500 to Valley Community Development Corporation in Northampton, which will use funds for services that will increase the stability and growth of businesses through a combination of one-on-one technical assistance, targeted workshops, and partnerships with focuses on business planning, financial analysis, bookkeeping support, loan readiness, and marketing.

•    $96,200 to South Eastern Economic Development Corporation in Taunton, which will use funds to support a combination of one-on-one and cohort-based assistance and workshops for small businesses, in addition to providing gap financing for clients unable to obtain assistance from traditional financial institutions.

•    $90,500 to Quaboag Valley Community Development Corporation in Ware, which will use funds to deliver an assortment of technical assistance services to low-to-moderate-income business owners, including helping create business plans, facilitating access to capital, and assisting with financial management.
 

"We're grateful to MassDevelopment for supporting Nectar and strengthening our capacity to serve small business owners across Massachusetts," said Nectar Community Investments Executive Director Glynn Lloyd. "As a CDFI, technical assistance is a major part of our efforts to provide businesses with the wraparound support they need to successfully access capital. This grant is key in bolstering that essential work and empowering the Commonwealth's small businesses as they pursue their dreams."

Full list of awarded projects:

•    Cape & Islands Community Development, Inc. d/b/a Coastal Community Capital (Barnstable) – $85,200
•    Trustees of Tufts College / New Entry Sustainable Farming Project (Beverly) – $70,000
•    African Community Economic Development of New England, Inc. (Boston) – $86,100
•    Black Economic Council of Massachusetts, Inc. (Boston) – $72,300
•    Boston Center for Community Ownership, Inc (Boston) – $93,000
•    Boston Impact Initiative Fund (Boston) – $96,600
•    Boston Main Streets Foundation (Boston) – $82,000
•    Browning the Green Space, Inc. (Boston) – $80,200
•    Center for Women & Enterprise, Inc. (Boston) – $86,900
•    Codman Square Neighborhood Development Corporation (Boston) – $85,000
•    Dorchester Bay Neighborhood Loan Fund, Inc. (Boston) – $86,700
•    Hispanic American Institute, Inc. (Boston) – $100,000
•    Local Enterprise Assistance Fund, Inc. (Boston) – $92,000
•    Lotus Entrepreneurship Institute, Inc. d/b/a ElevAsian (Boston) – $40,000
•    NEBGC MASSACHUSETTS ADVISORS (Boston) – $75,800
•    The Carrot Project, sponsored by Third Sector New England, Inc (Boston) – $54,600
•    The Massachusetts LGBT Chamber of Commerce, Inc. (Boston) – $94,100
•    TLE Center for Urban Entrepreneurship, Inc. (Boston) – $87,300
•    Veronica Robles Cultural Center, Corp (Boston) – $40,000
•    Women of Color Entrepreneurs, Inc. (Boston) – $80,200
•    La Colaborativa, Inc. (Chelsea) – $92,800
•    Hilltown Community Development Corporation (Chesterfield) – $83,000 
•    Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture, Inc. (Deerfield) – $68,000
•    NewVue Communities, Inc. (Fitchburg) – $87,100
•    North Central Massachusetts Development Corporation (Fitchburg) – $90,400
•    Berkshire Agricultural Ventures, Inc. (Great Barrington) – $80,000
•    Community Development Corporation South Berkshire, Inc. (Great Barrington) – $40,000
•    Franklin County Community Development Corporation (Greenfield) – $103,000
•    Nuestras Raices, Inc. (Holyoke) – $90,100
•    Nectar Community Investments, Inc. (Lawrence) – $94,200
•    Community Teamwork, Inc. (Lowell) – $80,000
•    Community Economic Development Center of Southeastern Massachusetts, Inc. (New Bedford) – $88,600
•    New Bedford Economic Development Council, Inc. (New Bedford) – $91,600
•    Assets for Artists Inc. (North Adams) – $80,000
•    Cooperative Development Institute, Inc. (Northampton) – $104,000 
•    The ICA Group, Inc. (Northampton) – $82,000
•    The Sphere Northampton, Inc. (Northampton) – $85,000
•    Valley Community Development Corporation (Northampton) – $95,500
•    Lower Cape Cod Community Development Corporation (Orleans) – $98,000
•    Berkshire Black Economic Council, Inc. (Pittsfield) – $83,400
•    Latinas413, Inc. (Pittsfield) – $40,000
•    Pittsfield Economic Revitalization Corporation (Pittsfield) – $96,000
•    North Shore Community Development Coalition, Inc. (Salem) – $82,000
•    East Somerville Main Street, Inc. (Somerville) – $45,000
•    Union Square Main Streets, Inc. (Somerville) – $40,000 
•    Common Capital, Inc. (Springfield) – $98,600
•    Latino Economic Development Corporation (Springfield) – $91,100
•    South Eastern Economic Development Corporation (Taunton) – $96,200
•    Quaboag Valley Community Development Corporation (Ware) – $90,500
•    We Are ALX Inc (Wellesley) – $81,900
•    Latin American Business Organization Inc (Worcester) – $94,000
•    Main South Business Association, Inc. (Worcester) – $40,000
•    Pocasset Pokanoket Land Trust, INC (Worcester) – $40,000
•    Southeast Asian Coalition of Central Massachusetts, Inc. (Worcester) – $85,000
•    Worcester Regional Strategic Opportunities Foundation, Inc. d/b/a/ Worcester Regional Food Hub (Worcester) – $65,000

MassDevelopment, the state’s development finance agency and land bank, delivers financing solutions, real estate expertise, and other assistance to strengthen and grow the Massachusetts economy. We partner with businesses, nonprofits, developers, banks, and municipalities, providing resources to help create jobs, build housing, and foster vibrant communities across the state. During FY2025, MassDevelopment financed or managed 409 projects generating investment of more than $4.65 billion in the Massachusetts economy. These projects are estimated to create or support 25,246 jobs and build or preserve 2,867 housing units.