TN Placemakers Entrepreneurship Fund
"Talent is everywhere, opportunity is not." -Nicholas Kristoff
What is a Placemaker?
Someone who leverages local assets to create a sense of place for their community that promotes a strong sense of community and wellbeing.
What is the TN Placemakers Entrepreneurship Fund?
A pool of monetary resources dedicated to assisting communities across the state, from rural to urban, to develop and train small businesses and entrepreneurs by allowing them to obtain funds for broad and diverse activities.
The funding can be used for three categories of work: Assess and Plan, Build and Sustain, or Support and Train.
Why does it matter?
TN Placemakers initially resolved the confusion and fragmentation relative to TNECD’s entrepreneurship and small business development initiatives. Consolidating them into a single fund has increased the overall customer experience and streamlined access to funds for our communities.
Talent is everywhere, opportunity is not, and availability does not equate to equitable access. TN Placemakers strives to help communities provide opportunity through true access for the small businesses and entrepreneurs that are and will be a part of their community. We know those businesses include microenterprises, minority, women and veteran-owned businesses, entrepreneurs with disabilities and those in underserved and underrepresented areas.
Want to learn more about Placemaking?
There are a lot of resources! You can find several on the BERO website here under “Community Resources,” through various podcasts on your favorite platform, or reports like one from Brookings, “Why we need to invest in transformative placemaking.”
Be A Placemaker
Application Period: Open
Note: Applications are accepted and reviewed on a rolling basis until funding the program dollars are fully awarded.
What are the application amounts?
Funds may be allocated to one, some or among all three of the following categories of small business and entrepreneurial activity.
Category Max Grant Amount
Assess & Plan $50,000
Build & Sustain $250,000
Support & Train $50,000
A 10% match required by grantees. Your match may include cash, dollars from private foundations, private sources and/or unmatched federal funds, verifiable salary/benefits, among others.
Who can apply?
- Nonprofits
- Educational institutions
- Government entities
This includes ED organizations, chambers of commerce, development districts, public-private partnerships, etc. Nonprofit applicants must be established for at least three years. This grant is not intended to support an individual business; it is for the benefit and support of businesses.
IMPORTANT:
- Individual businesses are not eligible for TN Placemakers funding. If you are looking for resources for your individual business, visit BERO.
- To verify that your nonprofit is in good standing in TN, do a business information search here before applying.
- If you have questions, please email the TN Placemakers team.
How long is the contract?
Up to 24-months, with a general breakdown of…
- Months 1-18: Implementation and utilization
- Months 19-24: Observation period, data reporting, and close-out of the grant
Need more information? Check out some best practices here, and email the TN Placemakers Team with questions. It is better to ask question before applying.
Assess & Plan
What is it for?
Assessing the small business and entrepreneurship landscape by assisting communities to gather information and figure out how to move forward.
What are some of the eligible activities?
Determine gaps in the community and ways to close them which may include, but are not limited to, retail development, tourism, agribusiness, coworking spaces, commercial kitchen incubators, entrepreneurship training services, disaster recovery, etc.
How much can we apply for?
The maximum funding allocation is $50,000/grantee.
Build & Sustain
What is it for?
Increasing the success of local small business and entrepreneurs through stabilization and expansion funds to grantees (and subrecipients), directly engaged in small business and entrepreneurial development.
What are some of the eligible activities?
Furniture, fixtures, and equipment; offset of operational cost to reach sustainability (i.e. rent utilities, installation of technology like gig service into a building without it, etc.), applied primarily to physical locations, such as commercial kitchens, pop-up shops, coworking spaces, etc.
How much can we apply for?
The maximum funding allocation is $250,000/grantee.
Support & Train
What is it for?
Providing access to education, resources, and tools directly to future and existing small businesses and entrepreneurs.
What are some of the eligible activities?
Small business and entrepreneurial development activities, including, but limited to, mentor-protégé program, coding classes, popup shops, craft and artisan development (i.e. Etsy), pitch competitions, Co-Starters classes, Economic Gardening, succession and disaster planning.
How much can we apply for?
The maximum funding allocation is $50,000/grantee.
Partner Resources
General Informational Webinars
| Day | Focus | Slides | Recording |
| General Information | Click Here | Click Here | |
| 9/17/2021 | Retail Strategies | Click Here | Click Here |
| 10/1/2021 | Proof Incubator | Click Here | Click Here |
| 10/22/2021 | CDBG Details | Click Here | Click Here |
| 11/12/2021 | More than a Lender | Click Here | Click Here |
| 12/3/2021 | CO.STARTERS | Click Here | Click Here |
| 1/14/2022 | Past/Current Grantees (peer learning) | Click Here | Click Here |
Learn about great Placemaking work in Tennessee by visiting @TNPlacemakers on Instagram.
Read this whole section before you begin working on the application.
Documents you need:
Budget Template and Grant Payment Form
Your application must include these documents in order to be reviewed.
Good to know before you start:
- We strongly recommend that you (1) read all the information on the website carefully, (2) save your work regularly, and (3) ask us questions. Email us at TN Placemakers Team with your questions.
- Individual businesses are not eligible for TN Placemakers funding. If you are looking for resources for your individual business, visit BERO.
- Nonprofits: to verify that your nonprofit is in good standing, do a business information search here . If it is not here and active, then you are not an eligible nonprofit.
- Applications are currently being accepted on a rolling basis… That means apply while there are dollars to award for your project!
- It is better to contact us to ask questions before you apply. Your time is important, and we want to make the most it.
A few recommendations… As you think about your application and the information you will be including in it, follow these general guidelines:
- Data dumping is not helpful. Use data but be lean in how you do it. We use and have access to a lot of data. Instead, tell us about who you are working with and/or who you plan to reach, specifically, and why.
- Explain what you want to do; how you plan to do it; what it will look like when it is completed successfully; and how much it will cost do it.
- ·If you have key collaborators or partnerships, be sure to include who and how, specifically, you are working together.
Remember, you are a Placemaker. Talent is everywhere, but opportunity is not. As you bring opportunities to your community, ask if it is it truly accessible? Availability does not equate to access.
We are excited about the things you will do in your community for the small businesses and entrepreneurs that are and will be a part of it. We know those businesses include microenterprises, minority, women and veteran-owned businesses, entrepreneurs with disabilities and those in underserved and underrepresented areas.
For additional information: PDF presentation here