SALISBURY — The Rowan Chamber of Commerce announced the recipients of the small business grants, which are aimed at assisting businesses with less than 10 employees, on Tuesday.

The grants were part of a pilot program that was funded in Salisbury’s 2023-2024 budget, when the city approved a total $30,000 for the grant funding. Applicants were required to have their business within the city limits, have a viable business plan, have 10 or fewer employees and be registered and permitted to operate, said Assistant City Manager Kelly Baker at the Salisbury City Council meeting on Tuesday.

The funds could be used for permanent improvements to the business’ physical space or for fixed assets used in the business’ operations.

Six businesses were chosen out of 37 total applicants, with each recipient receiving $5,000. The winners announced on Tuesday were:

• Barrett’s Farm Fresh, owned by Jeffrey Cox and located at 1335 W. Innes St.
• Brighter Beginnings Childcare Center, owned by Stephanie Roebuck-Alston and located at 529 W. Innes St.
• Divine Health and Wellness Home Care, owned by Tamika Burns and located at 165 Mahaley Ave.
• West End Mini Mart, owned by Latavia Godwin and located at 702 W. Horah St.
• Mecca II, owned by Sh’Myra Moore and located at 318 N. Main St.

“This grant means a lot to us small business owners, especially us who are trying to get started, much like me. I’m a year and a half into my business, so I just want to thank you. I plan to do some reconstruction and some other things around the daycare to enhance the daycare,” Roebuck-Alston said at the city council meeting.

Elaine Holden, the immediate past chair of the chamber, provided an update on the program to the city council along with Baker. They said that the chamber established a committee to review the applications which used criteria such as the business being owned by someone with low to moderate income, being located in an economically disadvantaged Census tract, the sustainability of the business’ model and the business’ broader benefits to the community. Those criteria were part of a scoring rubric that was created in cooperation with Rowan-Cabarrus Community College’s Small Business Center.

After Holden and Baker presented the update, the members of the city council said that they hoped that the chamber could take the result of the pilot program and bring it to other organizations in the community who could contribute.

“Hannah (Jacobson) was our city representative on the selection committee and she was just blown away by the people who applied. Fantastic business owners and a really diverse, broad range of types of businesses. She immediately said ‘I wish we had more money to give more opportunities to these businesses because they’re all so very deserving,” said Baker.

Councilmember David Post said that he would like to see the Rowan County EDC and the Rowan County Tourism Development Authority assist with funding as well as seeing if the chamber could provide money as well, which Holden said she would discuss with chamber President Elaine Spalding.

“You’ve got three sources there that have independent sources of money other than taxpayer money. I think we have an opportunity, because of the success of the program, to go to at least those three and say ‘hey, we want you to match what the city puts in.’ Then we could have a real fund to work with and more than six out of the 37 businesses,” said Post.

Mayor Karen Alexander agreed with Post and Councilmember Anthony Smith noted that matching the city’s funding could be a “material way that they could maintain their commitment to equity in the community.”