On May 2, during National Small Business Week, the city of Harrisonburg  awarded $36,700 in grants to small businesses in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County. 

Grant awards range from $1,200 to $4,900 and are the final portion of a three-pronged small business assistance program called Bricks & Clicks, which was designed to help businesses become stronger bricks-and-mortar destinations complemented with stronger websites and digital marketing.

Bricks & Clicks was developed by the city of Harrisonburg, Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance, Rockingham County, James Madison University and the Shenandoah Valley Small Business Development Center, and it was made possible by a $40,000 Building Entrepreneurial Economies grant through the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development.

The program offered businesses in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County an opportunity to learn about small business destination marketing from a national expert through a low-cost workshop, technical assistance from local marketing and visual design experts and grants of up to $5,000.  The grant awards are positioned to bring more than $70,000 worth of investment into making the selected businesses more competitive and profitable through e-commerce tools, improved websites, strategic marketing campaigns and on-site attractions.

Congratulations to the entrepreneurs and community partners!  Learn more about Bricks and Clicks here >>>

Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance will host Virginia Main Street’s Downtown Intersections on July 16-18, 2018.