According to Fairfax County’s Division Manager of Economic Innovation and Strategy Jamie Gaucher, the pandemic served as a catalyst for the county to help small businesses recover and grow.
This is just one example of how a local government is putting federal dollars to work.
THRIVE, as the program is known, is supported through the county Board of Supervisors’ authorization of $7 million from the American Rescue Plan Act. The Latino Economic Development Center, a nonprofit based in Washington, D.C., is the program administrator.
As Gaucher explained, it is not uncommon for businesses — and especially for small businesses — to be specialized in specific areas. As such, there may be gaps in regard to other areas of knowledge, like digital literacy, which could help them improve their business.
“Everybody is going to need help with something,” Gaucher stated.
Through THRIVE, participating businesses will receive free coaching in one or more areas including web development, marketing, financial planning, commercial lease negotiation and more. And within the specific area of information communications technology, Gaucher said there are several areas of focus such as cybersecurity and e-commerce.
The program offers a customized approach in which a business coach will assess a participant’s capabilities and areas that they are interested in learning more about, to provide tailored assistance.
A particular goal for the program is to reach the county’s relatively diverse small-business population. The program will include a language assistance component to simplify the application process for all eligible business owners.
This program aims to reach business owners representing a range of diverse and underrepresented demographics. Small businesses owned by non-English-speaking individuals may not have the resources available to those owned by English-speaking individuals, Gaucher noted.
“It’s really an effort to cast a wide net of services to as wide of a population as we can,” he stated.
Gaucher said the county will measure the impact of the program by conducting a survey with all program participants, focusing on factors like capital acquisition, savings and other positive impacts.
The program’s first application period started Dec. 12 and closed Dec. 21; the second period is scheduled to take place from Jan. 16-26, 2024.
Eligible small businesses are those that are located in the county that have been operating since 2021 or earlier; employ 49 or fewer individuals; and can demonstrate a negative economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
More detailed information about eligibility criteria can be found on the county’s website.
This program is one of several comprehensive programs in the county that support small businesses, with other notable initiatives including the Microloan Program, RISE Small Business Grant Program, PIVOT Recovery Grant Program and the Economic Recovery Framework.
