WBDC recently completed a road show highlighting recent grant recipients of the Ignite and Child Care Business Opportunity Fund grant programs. 

STAMFORD, Conn. — The Women’s Business Development Council (WBDC) recently completed a five-day road show, visiting 14 women-owned businesses across Connecticut. Each of the businesses recently received funding through one of two specific WBDC grant programs — the Ignite Grant Program and the Child Care Business Opportunity Fund. Both are set to reopen for new applications in early August.

“Our grant road shows provide an opportunity for us – as well as local elected officials and some of our generous donors – to congratulate in person some of the incredibly women entrepreneurs who are growing their businesses and increasing their contribution to the vitality of our state’s economy through WBDC grant programs,” said WBDC CEO Fran Pastore. “We hope learning about the businesses that have successfully accessed capital through WBDC will encourage other entrepreneurs to learn more about our grant programs and work with our fabulous team of business advisors to get ready to apply for the next round of grants.”

The Ignite Grant Program is designed to help women-owned businesses grow by providing grants of $2,500 to $10,000 for clearly defined projects with measurable impact on business growth and profitability. In its most recent round — the program’s ninth — 60 grants totaling $563,897 were awarded. Of the recipients, 12% are located in economically distressed communities, and 28% are women of color. To date, the Ignite Grant Program has distributed $3.9 million to 424 small businesses across Connecticut.

The WBDC Road Show visited eight Ignite Grant recipients over three days: 

• Scoot & Paddle (Milford)
• Studio 10 (Berlin)
• Craves (Manchester)
• Gemini Seafood (Tony & Sons Seafood (Oakville)
• Yoga Station (Redding)
• Fleur Beauty Lounge (Stamford)
• Shuttle Press Bindery (Stonington)
• Hope Lodge (Moosup)
• 640 Health Therapies (Westbrook)

The WBDC Child Care Business Support Program (operated through a partnership with the Office of Early Childhood) is designed to support, sustain, and grow child care businesses in Connecticut, driving economic growth, job creation, and improved outcomes for providers across the state. Since its launch in 2020, the program’s Child Care Opportunity Fund has created or retained more than 10,000 jobs and nearly 40,000 child care slots. In the most recent round, WBDC awarded 54 grants totaling $538,051 to child care businesses statewide. To date, the program has awarded 777 grants totaling $8.35 million.

The WBDC Road Show visited six Child Care Business Opportunity Fund grant recipients over two days: 

• Connecticut Friends School (Wilton)
• Honey Tree Preschool and Childcare (Bethel)
• Dreams Home Daycare (Danbury)
• Daisy and Friends Family Daycare (West Haven)
• First Path Academy Inc (Bloomfield)
• Around the Clock 4 Tots LLC (Newington)

The next round of grant applications will open in early August, but businesses can begin to prepare now. Interested businesses should visit https://ctwbdc.org/what-we-do/funding-your-business/ or email info@ctwbdc.org to learn how to get started. 

Photos from the road show can be found here

About the Women’s Business Development Council

The Women’s Business Development Council’s (WBDC) mission is to support economic prosperity for women and strengthen communities through entrepreneurial and financial education services that create and grow sustainable jobs and businesses across Connecticut. WBDC educates, motivates, and empowers women to achieve economic independence and self-sufficiency. Since 1997, WBDC has educated and trained nearly 21,000 clients in all of Connecticut’s 169 towns—helping women to launch, sustain, and scale over 15,730 businesses, create and maintain more than 39,300 jobs in Connecticut, and access almost $80 million in capital. Since 2020, WBDC has provided more than $18 million in grants to help fuel growth in small businesses throughout Connecticut. Visit ctwbdc.org for more information.