North Charleston nonprofit receives $55,000 grant for accelerator program

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A North Charleston nonprofit that helps individuals reverse the cycle of debt received a $55,000 grant to launch an accelerator pilot program for minority business owners.

Increasing H.O.P.E. Financial Training Center, located on Remount Road, is was one of 14 organizations to receive a grant from S.C. Department of Commerce Office of Innovation, according to a news release. H.O.P.E. stands for Helping Others Prosper Economically.

The nonprofit serves as a one-stop education resource for families, individuals and entrepreneurs to reach financial stability and build assets. That includes helping individuals build wealth through investments, home ownership and the start of a successful small business.

The funds will help launch its I-HOPE Accelerator Pilot Program, which aims to support minority business owners, including women and veterans, with mentoring, training, business analysis tools, minority certifications, and access to capital infusions and high-growth opportunities, the release said.

“In a time of uncertainty among business owners, there is a growing awareness — and resolve — to focus on the challenges and the obstacles unique to communities of color,” said Dorothea Bernique, executive director of Increasing H.O.P.E. “It is important to ensure diverse communities, and communities of color, are included in economic development strategies. This is especially true with ecosystem building in communities of color because of the proven ability for entrepreneurship to create jobs and decrease the racial wealth gap.” 

The Commerce Department’s Office of Innovation awarded $670,000 in total to organizations as part of the Relentless Challenge grant series, which specifically invests in local initiatives and supports technology-based economic development projects, commercialization of new ideas and the next generation of industry-leading companies.

The 14 projects, which are anticipated to begin early this year, are:

• City of Myrtle Beach: Building Myrtle Beach’s entrepreneurial ecosystem
• Don Ryan Center of Innovation: High-tech expansion in the Bluffton Region
• Greater Hartsville Chamber of Commerce: Cultivating the future of Hartsville and the Pee Dee
• Greenville Local Development Corp.: The “GVL Starts” Program
• GrowCo – Project Flywheel
• Increasing H.O.P.E.: Accelerator Pilot Program
• McNair Institute for Entrepreneurism & Free Enterprise: Connecting Students to Startups: Collaborative Online Programs for Students and Startups
• MUSC Research Foundation: Entrepreneurial support through education, formation and funding, networking and mentoring
• MUSC Zucker Institute for Applied Neurosciences: Inspire, Innovate, Commercialize 
• NEXT Upstate: NEXT Learning Labs Extension, Office Hours, Entrepreneur-in-Residence, Internship Program Extension
• People in Partnership – “Chain Spark” – A Blockchain Startup Launch Program & Incubator
• Piedmont Technical College – Workforce Immersion Experiences for Educators
• Trident Technical College – Virtual Entrepreneur Center at Trident Technical College
• Venture Carolina – Venture Carolina Center for Entrepreneur and Investor Education

In the last decade, the S.C. Department of Commerce Office of Innovation has awarded more than $7 million to 41 organizations’ local innovation projects.

“The knowledge economy represents a vital part of South Carolina’s present and future. To ensure our industry partners have access to cutting-edge technology and a high-tech workforce, the continued growth of innovation in S.C. is critical,” Secretary of Commerce Bobby Hitt said. “Congratulations to these 14 awardees, and we look forward to all they’ll achieve in the years to come.”