Dear Chicago Small Business Community,
 
Happy Friday! We hope that you had a wonderful week. This week’s news highlights important upcoming events and funding opportunities for your small business. Please read below for highlights of this and next week. We will now be sending these weekly updates through MailChimp. If you have any questions, please email info@chibizhub.com. Enjoy your weekend!
 
ChiBizHub Announcements:
Thursdays with ChiBizHub Instagram Lives
Starting Thursday, July 8th at 9:30am, ChiBizHub will be going live on Instagram to highlight our local business resource providers and the services they provide. Our first lives have featured Allies for Community Business, Greater Southwest Development Corporation, and North River Commission, highlighting the work they do across Chicago. You don’t want to miss these fun conversations! Be sure to follow @chibizhub on Instagram and read the graphic below for more information!

Call Today: ChiBizHub Business Resource Hotline  312-589-5777
The ChiBizHub business resource hotline is available and FREE! Ask us any questions regarding starting, scaling, or growing your business. Call today and speak one-on-one with a member of the ChiBizHub team! Funding Opportunity: 3% Business Loan with Allies for Community Business
Allies for Community Business, formerly Accion Chicago, is dedicated to helping businesses throughout Illinois and Indiana recover and grow.

In 2020, we disbursed $400 million in grants and loans to over 22,000 community businesses, but we know that underserved businesses need more. Now that Illinois and Indiana are open for business, we want to continue to help you build your business. Starting today, you can apply for a small business loan at a special, discounted 3% interest rate. We offer term loans and lines of credit from $500 to $100,000.  This special offer only applies to loan applications initiated after June 28, 2021. Refinances do not qualify and all applications are subject to A4CB standard underwriting and application review. This interest rate promotion is supported by funding from Wells Fargo. This is a limited time offer so apply today! Apply here: https://a4cb.loanwell.com/

SBIF Grants Announced for New Districts in July:
The Small Business Improvement Fund (SBIF) opens for grants each month in various TIF districts across Chicago. The program’s three-year funding plan, adopted in December 2020, currently runs through 2023.
Eligible businesses must submit their application during the month-long application window for their TIF district to qualify for funding. To find out if and when SBIF grants are available for your business, search the address on the eligibility page.
The districts open for the month of July are the following:

For more information, and to apply, visit https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/sites/small-business-improvement-fund/home/rollout-calendar.html
To watch the SBIF Rollout webinar, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zzmg2mRaHKg

Are you looking for a Coworking Space? Workbox is offering a discount for ChiBizHub clients!
Workbox is a Coworking Accelerator that provides bold companies with the resources to build faster, smarter and together. For a limited time, they are offering a 10% discount on memberships to their coworking offices throughout the city. Take advantage of this here: https://share.hsforms.com/1Pw_qZInCQBq9D-3qp0GfTA3rqo2

Happening Now: Nominations for Chicago Innovation Awards are due 7/30
The deadline to nominate your organization for the 20th annual Chicago Innovation Awards is July 30th
. If you’ve launched a new product, service or company across any industry in the past 4 years, you can nominate, and there is no fee to submit a nomination!

Winners receive:

  • Celebration at the Chicago Innovation Awards ceremony in October
  • Invitation to ring the Nasdaq Bell in Times Square
  • Meetings with the Governor, Mayor and Cook County President
  • Recognition in local and national press 

Award Categories:

  • Chicago Innovation Awards
  • Up-And-Comer Awards
  • Social Innovator Award
  • Collaboration Award
  • Accenture Corporate Innovator Award
  • Walgreens Digital Transformation Award
  • SMS Assist Entrepreneurial Spirit Award
  • Wintrust Chicago Neighborhood Awards
  • Innovating in Response to COVID-19 Award

By CCNM

I have functioned as a Business and Media Consultant over the past sixteen years and spent many years developing my capacity to function in our ever evolving use of technology, communication, education and training.