RAIN Wins $748,833 Grant to Help Oregon Businesses Recover from Pandemic and Raise Capital
The grant will support resiliency programs for entrepreneurs in Oregon’s Lane, Linn, Benton, and Grant counties
[Eugene, Ore.] The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Agency (EDA) awarded RAIN (Regional Accelerator & Innovation Network) a $748,833 federal grant to strengthen and build programs for entrepreneurs in four underserved Oregon counties.
The Scaling Pandemic Resilience Through Innovation and Technology (SPRINT) Challenge national competition sought applications for programs designed to support projects that accelerate technology-based economic development and respond to the challenges caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
“The U.S. Economic Development Administration is proud to support RAIN with a SPRINT Challenge grant,” said Dennis Alvord, Acting Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development. “We applaud RAIN’s efforts to strengthen its regional economy through entrepreneurship and leverage innovation to help American entrepreneurs and small businesses overcome the challenges brought on by the pandemic.”
The federal grant of $748,833, combined with a local match of $193,095, means RAIN will invest nearly $1 million in innovative, technology-based programs for Oregon entrepreneurs that will help these businesses recover, become more resilient, and withstand future economic shocks.
“We’ve spent years building trust with entrepreneurs in the communities we serve across Oregon,” says RAIN’s Chief Executive Officer Caroline Cummings. “As a result, we know the biggest barriers many of them are facing during this pandemic are increasing their financial management skills and systems, learning how to elevate or pivot to online sales and marketing, and raising capital. This grant empowers RAIN to deliver free programs that are designed to focus on all three barriers to growth that the pandemic has exacerbated.”
In addition to skill-building, mentorship, and business resiliency programs, RAIN’s EDA SPRINT project includes the creation of a fundraising platform that will help put vital capital into the hands of entrepreneurs through crowdsourced-style investing. Business owners will be able to raise capital through equity-based capital and/or revenue share loans.
“We know there are individuals in Oregon who want to invest in local business,” adds Cummings. “Currently, it is cumbersome and largely impractical for small businesses to accept small-dollar investments from individuals. Our fundraising platform will streamline small-scale investing in a legally-compliant manner, building a sustainable path forward for local entrepreneurs and engaging more Oregonians in their local entrepreneurial ecosystem.”
RAIN is seeking to fill three positions as part of the EDA SPRINT grant: a Resiliency Program Director to lead the implementation and management of the 18-month federal grant; a Marketing & Communications Lead to elevate the stories of Oregon businesses; and a Linn-Benton Venture Catalyst to continue building Linn and Benton Counties’ entrepreneurial ecosystem and innovation economy.
RAIN is also seeking experts to help educate and mentor entrepreneurs and small business owners.