Fulton County, through its Economic Development arm Select Fulton, was selected by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) as one of only 51 organizations nationally to receive a $1,000,000 grant from the Community Navigator Pilot Program, an American Rescue Plan initiative designed to reduce barriers that all small businesses, including those owned by disadvantaged groups such as veterans, women, and those from communities of color, often face in accessing critical support.

To announce the award, Mark Madrid, Associate Administrator of the Small Business Administration joined Chairman Robb Pitts of the Fulton County Board of Commissioners for an official visit to Fulton County to meet with the local Community Navigator team.

“The Small Business Administration is energized, grateful and pleased that Fulton County, as a Community Navigator Pilot Program grantee, will provide strategic and timely resources to our most underserved entrepreneurs in the diverse and vibrant Fulton County area,” said Mark Madrid, Associate Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Entrepreneurial Development. “Unquestionably, Fulton County is meeting small business owners where they are and meeting them with solutions that will help them recover, build back batter and increase capacity.  This is the embodiment of the Community Navigator Pilot Program.”

“We are thrilled to have this extra funding which will help us continue to support our small business community,” said Robb Pitts, Chairman of the Fulton County Board of Commissioners. “Building more resiliency in our small businesses is critical to help them survive these challenging times.”

Fulton County will partner with the South Fulton Chamber of Commerce to provide free technical assistance training to up to 300 small business and entrepreneurs in Fulton County, with prioritization for minority and female owned firms. Trainings will include classes on accounting, leadership, legal, marketing and more.

“Being the backbone of our local Fulton economy, small businesses deserve our support and I am excited we are able to offer this new program,” said District 1 Commissioner Liz Hausmann and sponsor of Economic Development on behalf of the Board of Commissioners.

Details on the training classes and application period can be found at NavigateSF.com.

“As a Chamber, we have been on the front lines working with our members to adapt their business to survive through the pandemic,” said Y. Dyan Matthews, President and CEO of the South Fulton Chamber of Commerce. “This grant is an important next step to continue that important work with our small businesses.”