Have A Need? NJBAC Can Help.

The NJBAC is offering no-cost technical assistance, training, and problem-solving – we are here to support all of your Business Enhancement needs. Whether you have a one-off resource question, are looking for a strategic assessment of a district, or could use some quick visualized tactical inspiration to foster visible and tangible change, NJBAC can help. Contact NJBAC Assistant Director Jef Buehler to start the conversation and move towards action.

Today’s email has information on assistance we can provide, as well as about technical and financial resources that may be a fit for your community or district. Please feel free to share this information with other officials, district management stakeholders, and businesses.

Best Practices

Reminder: The NJ Small Business Manual Is Now Live:  Any business or anyone who works with businesses can now download a copy of the NJBAC’s NJ Small Business Manual to get up to speed with the basics of starting and running a business in New Jersey.  For those businesses or entities that wish to have a hardcopy of the manual, please request the number of hardcopies desired to Don Newman, Manager of the Office of Small Business Advocacy via email. (Note: there is a limit of 10 printed copies per requestor.)

Building Communities to Foster Connection - Webinar: The Foundation for Social Connection is hosting a webinar on their SOCIAL Framework Built Environment Report. This webinar on May 21st explores how local leaders, policymakers, and organizational change-makers can foster connectedness through the design, planning, and facilitation of the built environment. You can register here.

Anti-displacement Fact Sheets for Communities Doing Redevelopment:  Smart Growth America (SGA) created a set of fact sheets that highlight strategies communities can use to help mitigate displacement in the context of redevelopment, with a focus on brownfields areas. Redevelopment often occurs in economically disadvantaged areas or near communities of color, presenting opportunities for renewal but may not be addressing the gentrification or displacement that comes with renewal. SGA presents 7 Fact Sheets of tools that can be utilized to foster redevelopment projects that balance profit and viability with keeping existing residents and businesses as part of the progress as it occurs. These are: Community Benefits Agreements, Community Land Trusts, Inclusionary Zoning, Small Business Preservation Programs, Tax Abatements, Down Payment and Closing Cost Assistance Programs, and Weatherization Assistance.

Featured Grants & Support

Activate Your Public Assets: The NJEDA’s New Jersey Asset Activation Planning Grant Program will provide grants of up to $50,000 directly to municipalities, non-profit, and other entities for pre-development planning that will demonstrate viability of projects that activate under-utilized public assets that benefit their communities and the regional economy. This first come/first served competitive grant round just opened on May 7^th and will close on August 5^th, or until all available money has been allocated. Here is the FAQ for this innovative program.

First In the Nation - NJ Innovation Fellows Grant: The New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) has opened applications for the next cohort of the New Jersey Innovation Fellows (NJIF) Program on May 6^th, and is currently accepting questions from potential applicants. The NJIF Program supports entrepreneurs with income replacement grants, mentorship, and training to provide security in the early stages of start-up business creation. Through the NJIF Program, the NJEDA supports teams of at least three entrepreneurs with mentorship, training, and income replacement capital of up to $400,000 over a two-year period, attracting innovative ideas and entrepreneurs who would otherwise be unable to pursue the launch of a new venture due to income needs or socio-economic constraints.

NJBAC Can Work With All the Businesses in Your Community

We are here for your communities’ and districts’ businesses. NJBAC offers free online chat and telephone (800-537-7397) assistance in English and Spanish to any business in NJ – any size, any location, and any type. Our team can advocate for businesses, concierge them to funding and technical solutions, help them find locations for growth or developing export markets, guide them to navigating the commercial cannabis sector, and much more. Want to set something up online or on-site for your businesses? Reach out to NJBAC Assistant Director Jef Buehler to get plugged in to all of our business success services.