Grant to Address High Demand For Business Coaching

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A $100,000 grant from the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust aims to support entrepreneurship services in central Indiana. The funding, awarded to the Indy Chamber’s Business Ownership Initiative, will help provide business coaching and microlending services.

The BOI administer’s the nation’s largest chamber-affiliated microloan program through the U.S. Small Business Administration. The Indy Chamber says the program helps growing employers who may not meet traditional lending standards.

"As an SBA lending partner, we can deploy more microlending capital in the nine-county region," said Carrie Henderson, president of the BOI. "Business coaching capacity is our urgent need:  Knowledge is power, and expert coaching empowers small employers and entrepreneurs to take their business to the next level. The Pulliam Trust grant will support hundreds of hours of additional coaching time and access to resources for these companies."

The grant is an increase from the $60,000 the Pulliam Charitable Trust awarded the chamber in 2015. The chamber says the boost will help the BOI meet the growing demand for business coaching resources throughout the region.