Indiana Awards Community Grant to Accelerate Local Entrepreneurship Resources

(See full press release here.)

INDIANAPOLIS (June 24, 2025) – Today, Indiana’s Commerce Office awarded $925,107 in grant awards to accelerate entrepreneurial activity and resources statewide through its Community Collaboration Fund (CCF). These awards will help fuel 28 community-led projects focused on entrepreneurial education, connection and acceleration across Indiana, including one serving Noble County.

"Under Governor Braun’s leadership, Indiana is more committed than ever to cultivating the growth of Main Street entrepreneurship and celebrating the impact our business owners have on our economy,” said Secretary of Commerce David Adams. “These community projects will ensure that current and future entrepreneurs across the state have access to the programming, resources and support needed to start and scale a business right here in Indiana.”

CCF provides matching grants to support new community collaborations, services and programming that will serve Indiana’s entrepreneurial ecosystem with a focus on education, connection and acceleration.

After receiving a large number of applications, the state’s Commerce Office selected 28 projects for matching grants based on their potential to fill critical gaps across the entrepreneurial ecosystem, support underserved markets and collaborate across boundaries. The projects selected – which are outlined below – will result in a variety of new programs and resources for aspiring entrepreneurs and current small business owners, such as AI education, business planning, financial literacy, online visibility and prototyping design, for businesses across a variety of industries such as the creative economy, childcare, food and beverage, defense and in rural communities.

Business and Entrepreneur Launch Tool (BELT) | Historic Downtown Kendallville ($33,475 award)

Historic Downtown Kendallville will launch a 10-week business accelerator cohort, providing hands-on training to 20 local entrepreneurs to help launch and expand their businesses. Once completed, participants will participate in pitch and business plan competitions.

About the Indiana Office of Commerce

The State of Indiana’s Office of Commerce was created by Governor Mike Braun to align and accelerate the state’s economic development efforts and is led by Indiana Secretary of Commerce David J. Adams.