Beyond Is Reopening For Business – YOUR Business 

You’ve heard us say it a thousand times, and we’re going to keep saying it:

Creatives are small business owners.
Artists are creative entrepreneurs.

You don’t have to be big to have a big idea. But, you do need capital.

To be a successful entrepreneur, you need a combination of social and financial capital that will lead you into tomorrow, not just take care of your immediate needs. Great ideas and the people who dream them up require investment. And everyone needs someone to believe in them. Not all grants get that.

This one does.

Six days from today—Monday, August 5—a powerful grant opportunity is opening for the planned final round. Creative entrepreneurs are invited to apply for Round Three of Beyond Open CLT.

WARNING: Do not drag your feet. The deadline to apply is August 30. This is a complex application process and has been highly competitive the past two rounds. Don’t wait. Start now.

WHAT IS BEYOND OPEN?

Beyond Open is a competitive small business grant program centered on building economic mobility in the Charlotte community, focusing on supporting diverse-owned (minority, woman, veteran, LGBTQ, persons with disabilities) small businesses within the Corridors of Opportunity as identified by the City of Charlotte.

Since the first round of funding opened in 2021, a total of $10.7 million has been awarded to nearly 300 small businesses and select nonprofits.

Beyond Open Round 3 grants will range from $10,000 to $150,000 for small business owners to purchase capital assets such as equipment, technology, inventory, and real estate. Beyond Open grants don’t require matching funds or repayment. Funds are available to small businesses of all industries, including brick-and-mortar, professional service providers, and creative entrepreneurs.

You have one more week until Beyond Open begins accepting applications, but there’s no time like the present.

Here are six steps we think will put you on the path to success before Beyond Open, well, opens!

ONE: Don’t wait! Start now.

Begin preparing as soon as you can.  The application process takes time.

TWO: Make sure you are eligible to apply.

Check the eligibility guidelines and make sure you are physically located within one of the six Corridors of Opportunity as identified by the City of Charlotte and that you meet ALL of the other eligibility requirements. As with the second round, nonprofits are ineligible. CHECK HERE.

THREE: Use the Round 3 Application Guide.
Attend/watch an information session.
Reach out for support.

The Beyond Open Round 3 Application Guide walks you through the entire application process step-by-step. It is available in English, Spanish and Vietnamese. DOWNLOAD IT.

Two more in-person information sessions are planned for Round 3 on Tuesday, July 30 and Thursday, Aug. 1. You can register to join or watch a video of a previous session REGISTER HERE.

Community partners including Aspire, Prospera and the Women’s Business Center are standing by to answer your questions and help you prepare your strongest application. Find out how to contact them HERE. 

FOUR: Read up (and WATCH!) about past grantees.

Learn about the people and businesses funded in the first two rounds. The Beyond Open website has lists of previous grantees and video interviews, too. Many grantees are creatives, like Junior Gomez and Kathryn Godwin. WATCH HERE.

FIVE: Learn about what makes a good answer.

We’ve never seen a prep kit this detailed before. The Beyond Open downloads page features a “Key Questions Guide” in English, Spanish and Vietnamese that breaks out specific application questions and provides examples of well-written answers and well-documented budgets. Awesome. DOWNLOAD HERE.

SIX: Get ready to tell your story in numbers.

Don’t wait until the last minute to put together a project budget. Build it alongside the narrative you tell in your essay answers so they both tell the same story. Beyond Open is a business grant designed for entrepreneurs. And, crisp project budgets are needed.

PRO TIP: Get accurate estimates for what you need. Hard numbers beat round numbers every day.

SEVEN: Get your business paperwork together.

To apply, you’ll need to provide official documents ranging from proof of your business start date to a recent bank statement and tax returns. And, the larger funding request you submit, the more documents you’ll need. DOWNLOAD THE OVERVIEW DOCUMENT for a list of what you’ll need.

Fortune favors the prepared, y’all. And Beyond Open has provided many tools to help you prepare. You got this!

This batch of The Biscuit was sponsored by Beyond Open CLT.

Beyond Open Small Business Grant Program (Beyond Open) is administered by FFTC Partners For Empowering Communities, a supporting organization of Foundation For The Carolinas. The program is made possible by support from the Wells Fargo Open for Business Fund. The Beyond Open grant program will help diverse, small business owners in Charlotte-Mecklenburg by investing in capital assets such as equipment, technology, inventory, and real estate, for the purposes of relieving poverty, eliminating prejudice and discrimination, reducing neighborhood tensions, and combatting community deterioration. Specifically, Beyond Open grants will focus on retaining jobs, encouraging job growth and economic development, and inspiring new entrepreneurial endeavors in communities with low economic mobility (with a focus on Charlotte’s “Corridors of Opportunity”), as well as creating opportunities for small businesses to provide goods or services in, or start businesses in, areas of affluence where minority business owners have been historically under-represented.