Innovation Fund | Business | South End Charlotte

About the Center City Small Business Innovation Fund

Charlotte Center City Partners and Honeywell created the Center City Small Business Innovation Fund, an initiative designed to spur and support innovation and adaptation by storefront small businesses as they adapt to the new economic realities caused by the COVID-19 crisis and economic downturn. This program was launched in 2020 with an initial investment of $2 million by Honeywell and in partnership with the Foundation For The Carolinas. Since the launch, there have been four rounds of grants totaling $4.6 million awarded to 143 innovative small businesses in the Charlotte community. 93% of the 143 grants were made to women, minority and/or veteran-owned businesses.

Why was the Innovation Fund Created?

Center City is fortunate to have hundreds of restaurants, breweries, bakeries, coffee shops, salons, retailers, food trucks, and other small businesses. Together, these businesses create the vibrancy and character that residents, visitors, workers, and major employers crave, and they distinguish Center City as an essential economic engine for the region.

But these entrepreneurs built their businesses to be fully open to the general public and are reliant on foot traffic for customers. Supporting storefront small business entrepreneurs as they navigate the new economic reality will make all the difference in our success and future competitiveness as an urban economy.