To encourage small business development, the Norton Sound Economic Development Corporation (NSEDC) has given six Norton Sound businesses grants totaling $160 thousand. The grants are a part of NSEDC’s Small Business Initiative.
This year’s grant recipients are: Bering Tea and Coffee, Crystal’s Cache, Midnite Sun Reindeer Ranch, K-C-E Snack Shop, MK Supply, Fifty Shades Hair Salon, and Neva Creek Photography. The businesses are from all over the Norton Sound Region.
NSEDC Community Benefits Director Paul Ivanoff III says NSEDC started giving out the grants after seeing the Alaska Federation of Natives do something similar. “We thought that small businesses were an underserved portion of the population,” said Ivanoff. He thinks the grants are a great tool for economic development.
Kristine McRae is a Small Business Initiative grant recipient and owner of Bering Tea and Coffee in Nome. She applied for the grant right after remodeling the store and says that it’s supplied her business with items that can be difficult to get.
“There are simply just some things that are more high dollar items, and especially for startups, it’s really hard to get the capital to get the equipment you need. So, I just feel really grateful I can get the equipment my kitchen really needs.”
McRae thinks the grants help businesses and the community through a three-pronged approach. The grant helps her to get products out, helps sustain a meeting place in the community, and offers an opportunity for local employment. “I’ve come to feel that an important thing with young people is to gain job skills and gain job experience. And one of the goals with helping small businesses with their finances is the hopes that they will become employers of people in our region,” said McRae.
McRae’s grant will be used to buy a new oven, refrigerator, and mixers.
In its eighth year, the NSEDC Small Business Initiative has donated over $1 million to businesses in the Norton Sound region.
