Supporting Small Business

New Funding Window to Open in March for USDA Broadband Program

Program webinar will take place on March 6 for interested applicants The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development is inviting loan and grant applications from organizations to provide funds for the costs of construction, improvement, or acquisition of facilities and equipment needed to provide broadband service in eligible rural areas...

Celebrating Black History Month and West Virginia’s Entrepreneurs

It may not seem like it, but the days are getting longer. We may be in the dead of winter here in West Virginia, but at Rural Development February is when things really start to heat up. Funding award announcements and learning opportunities are just a few of the things...

Morgantown Businessman Frank Vitale Named President of Country Roads Angel Network

The start-up business picture in West Virginia became even brighter today with the announcement from Country Roads Angel Network (CRAN) that it was naming Morgantown businessman Frank Vitale as its president. Recognized as the Mountain State’s first accredited angel network, CRAN was launched in late 2019, and now will have Vitale...

70 Years of Helping Small Businesses in the Mountain State

Last month, The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), celebrated seven decades of helping small businesses start, grow and succeed by honoring local small businesses with their Legacy Business recognition. Diana Lewis-Jackson, President and CEO, of Action Facilities Management received the recognition, at an invite only ceremony among family, friends and colleagues, on...

The Melody of Hiraeth: Celebrating West Virginia’s Makers

Hiraeth is a Celtic word that evades translation. It is the ache, the longing, the belonging of a place that unceasingly whispers our name, a place that claims us. Our spiritual home. West Virginia is my ancestral home. The hiraeth that beckoned my fifth great grandfather to the western frontier of...

1863nft Leads the Mountain State into the Web3 Revolution!

Thanks to the combined efforts of four '90s era West Virginia Wesleyan College classmates and five pioneering West Virginia-based artists, the great State of West Virginia has the distinction of being home to the world's very first state-themed NFT project! Titled 1863nft (for obvious reasons!), the project is comprised of 304...

Fostering a Strong Business Climate in Our Rural Communities

Economic and workforce development probably aren’t the first things that come to mind when you think of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), but at USDA Rural Development assisting small businesses is one of our primary missions. We are dedicated to helping West Virginia businesses through job creation and...

Gov. Justice Announces Approval of his petition for the Designation of Boone, Clay, Hampshire, Monroe, and Preston Counties as HUBZones

CHARLESTON, WV — Gov. Jim Justice is pleased to announce that his petition for Boone, Clay, Hampshire, Monroe, and Preston Counties to be Governor-designated HUBZones has been approved by the U.S. Small Business Administration. The Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) program gives participating small businesses access to exclusive federal contracting...