What is New Hampshire's Community Navigator Program?
New Hampshire's Community Navigator Program is specifically designed to break down barriers hindering small businesses, with a particular focus on microenterprises, cooperatives, and businesses in their early developmental stages. The initiative prioritizes support for New Hampshire businesses owned by women, socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, and underserved entrepreneurs.
This program offers New Hampshire a significant opportunity to enhance support for underserved individuals and communities by strengthening coordination and capacity within the local community economic development ecosystem. Building on years of dedicated work by small business technical assistance providers in the state, the initiative aims to foster the growth and success of New Hampshire's entrepreneurial community.
Key aspects of the Community Navigator Program include:
Offering free technical assistance and critical resources
Providing funding to nonprofits, state and local governments, universities, and tribal entities
Establishing hub-and-spoke networks to connect with specific sectors of the entrepreneurial community
Assisting with economic recovery through services such as financial assistance, access to capital, contracting and procurement guidance, marketing, operations, business development, exporting, and industry-specific training
The Community Navigator Program, an American Rescue Plan initiative, has allocated $100 million in funding to 51 organizations. These organizations will collaborate with numerous local groups to facilitate access to government resources, aiding entrepreneurs in recovery and growth. The program seeks to address the barriers faced by underrepresented and underserved entrepreneurs in accessing vital programs for business recovery, growth, or initiation.
In New Hampshire, the program is spearheaded by the Community Development Finance Authority (CDFA), which received a $2.5 million grant from the U.S. Small Business Administration. CDFA, selected as one of the fifty-one grantees from over 700 submissions nationwide, collaborates with an ecosystem of experienced small business and microenterprise technical assistance providers across the state.
Services offered by the Community Navigator Program in New Hampshire include:
Business counseling
Marketing, operations, business planning, and strategy development
Connection to training and skills development resources
Access to capital
Other tailored support as needed
Statewide, regional, and community partners, including organizations in Grafton and Coos Counties, Belknap, Carroll, and Strafford Counties, Hillsborough, Merrimack, and Rockingham Counties, as well as Cheshire and Sullivan Counties, are poised to support businesses with a customized approach to meet evolving needs.
The program emphasizes collaboration with experienced partner organizations, furthering small business development and wealth-building pathways for entrepreneurs across the state.