Honeywell and Charlotte Center City Partners Launch Small Business Innovation Fund

 Honeywell invests $2M in program to help enterprises adapt to the COVID-19 crisis; priority given to minority-, women- and veteran-owned businesses 

Charlotte, N.C., June 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Honeywell and Charlotte Center City Partners today announced the creation of the Center City Small Business Innovation Fund, an initiative designed to spur and support innovation and adaptation by storefront small businesses as they adapt to new economic realities caused by the COVID-19 crisis and economic downturn. This program is launching with an initial investment of $2 million by Honeywell and in partnership with Foundation For The Carolinas.

"Small businesses contribute greatly to Charlotte's growth and vibrancy, and Honeywell is proud to support them in overcoming the challenges posed by the COVID-19 crisis," said Honeywell Chairman and CEO Darius Adamczyk. "With the help of our two distinguished civic partners, we look forward to providing resources that small businesses in the Center City can use to make adaptations that help ensure their long-term prosperity as an integral part of our community."

"Our Center City has been a leading force for recovery and resiliency in the past and will play a unique and foundational role in Charlotte's return," said Michael J. Smith, President and CEO of Charlotte Center City Partners. "With the launch of this fund, alongside incredible partners like Honeywell and Foundation For The Carolinas, we are excited and honored to support the small businesses and entrepreneurs that drive our Center City's character and vibrancy."

Through the fund, a diverse advisory committee will provide grants of up to $40,000 to small businesses within Charlotte's Center City as they adapt their operations or business models in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The program is intended to support these local businesses as they seek to innovate to stay competitive and advance, leveraging Charlotte's strong history of public-private partnerships. Priority will be shown to minority, women, and veteran-owned businesses.

"During this crisis, we've seen our community step up in tremendous ways to support our neighbors and nonprofits through such efforts as the COVID-19 Response Fund," said Michael Marsicano, president and CEO of Foundation For The Carolinas. "Now we have an opportunity to support Center City's small business community as they pivot to adapt to changing times. I'm thankful for the extraordinary generosity of Honeywell, as well as the Foundation's partnership with Charlotte Center City Partners and its forward-thinking leadership in launching this effort."

Small businesses within a two-mile radius of Trade St. and Tryon St. will be able to apply for grants from the fund. Applicants will outline their adaptations and innovations that will enable them to advance their business. Applicants will detail costs and their readiness to implement the ideas, as well as agree to share their lessons so others may learn from their experience. Grants will be targeted to storefront businesses that create unique experiences and ideas with the potential to replicate, scale, or foster collaboration.

The Center City Small Business Innovation Fund will open for applications on June 26, 2020. For more information in the meantime, please visit www.charlottecentercity.org/innovationfund.

About Honeywell

Honeywell (www.honeywell.com) is a Fortune 100 technology company that delivers industry-specific solutions that include aerospace products and services; control technologies for buildings and industry; and performance materials globally. Our technologies help aircraft, buildings, manufacturing plants, supply chains, and workers become more connected to make our world smarter, safer, and more sustainable. For more news and information on Honeywell, please visit www.honeywell.com/newsroom.

ABOUT Charlotte Center City Partners envisions

Charlotte Center City Partners envisions and activates strategies and actions that will assure Charlotte Center City is a welcoming an equitable, economically vibrant, culturally rich, and beloved place for all. For more information, visit www.charlottecentercity.org.

About Foundation For The Carolinas

Founded in 1958, Foundation For The Carolinas is the sixth-largest nonprofit community foundation in the country, serving donors and a broad range of charitable purposes in North and South Carolina. With assets of $2.5 billion, FFTC's mission is to inspire philanthropy and empower individuals to create a better community. Visit www.fftc.org.

Source Charlotte Center City Partners

Contact:
Vica Bondurant, CCCP, (803) 767-8097, vbondurant@charlottecentercity.org

Nati Katz, Honeywell, (973) 615-1281, Netanel.Katz@Honeywell.com

Tim Hager, Foundation For The Carolinas, (704) 973-4587, thager@fftc.org