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As part of our continued efforts to promote local business success, we are excited to announce the recipients of the 2023 cycle of the MBE (Minority Business Enterprise) Grant program. The Entrepreneurial Advisory Committee has distributed a total of $219,600 in funding to 20 locally-owned small businesses. The grants were awarded in November 2023 for business costs incurred throughout 2024.

The MBE Grant fund was established in 2020 to promote sustained economic recovery and job retention for Black and Latinx-Owned small businesses in Winston-Salem and Forsyth County. The fund will allocate a total of $1.2 million over five years, with the final round of recipients being selected in late 2024.

Members of this year’s MBE Grant cohort attended a Meet & Greet at Greater Winston-Salem, Inc.

The 2023 grant recipients are as follows: 

  • Career Maven Consulting
  • Cheers Entertainment
  • Cisco Site Services
  • Counseling with a Purpose
  • Create A Heart Marketing
  • Dove InnerCity Notary
  • Heaven Nails Studio
  • Infinity Care
  • K & K Lact and Moore
  • Lelo’s Cuban Cafe
  • Lilly’s Network
  • Lutin Distributions, Inc.
  • Mack’s Barber and Beauty Studio
  • Nata Belles
  • Nu Dimensions Hair Studio
  • Reset and Heal
  • RubyG’s Buttercreme Sensations
  • Serenity Counseling & Resource Center, Inc.
  • Smith’s Primary Care and Wellness
  • Toro Trenching 

Businesses can apply for up to $25,000 in grant funding. Grants can be used for special projects or general operating expenses such as salary, wages, lease or rent payments, working capital, and capital expenditures. Grantees will report quarterly in 2024 on the use of the funds and the outcomes generated.

“This is a transformational opportunity for local minority-owned businesses,” says Lorena Muñoz-Holladay, co-chair of the Entrepreneurial Advisory Committee. “Over the course of the grant program, we have seen proven outcomes in jobs being retained and generated, and in businesses increasing their revenue. I am excited to follow the progress of the newest cohort and celebrate their successes.” 

“The MBE Grant program is a great example of our community’s commitment to working together to find innovative solutions,” says Mark Owens, President and CEO of Greater Winston-Salem, Inc. “This program, supported entirely through local funding, is integral to our goal of being a more equitable community. I am grateful for the support of our donors and the leadership of the Entrepreneurial Advisory Committee in making this program possible.” 

The MBE grant program is managed by the Entrepreneurial Advisory Committee, consisting of Black and Latinx business leaders in Forsyth County. Greater Winston-Salem, Inc. provides the grant program with financial oversight and organizational structure. The application window for the next and final grant cycle will be announced in the Fall of 2024. Visit the link below to learn more about the MBE Grant program and sign up for updates on the 2024 round of funding.

MBE Grants

Current Donors

Allegacy Federal Credit Union, Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist, Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Babcock, The Budd Group, Alan and Lisa Caldwell, Cook Medical, Jean C. Davis, Brenda Diggs, Duke Energy, Flow Automotive, Flow Lexus, Front Street Capital, Paul Fulton, Drew and Kelley Hancock, Javara, Bill McClain, Modern Automotive, L. David Mounts, David Neill, Novant Health, the Prim Family Foundation, Reynolds American, Ben C. Sutton, Jr., the Truist Charitable Fund, Claire and Randall Tuttle, Wells Fargo (Business) and the Wells Fargo Foundation, John Whitaker, and the Whitaker Park Development Authority.