BusinessWest & Healthcare News: Business & Health Talk Podcast · Audacy

BusinessWest Editor Joe Bednar talks with FCCDC Executive Director John Waite and Communications Director Kate Lawless

·22 min·1 clip

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Joe Bednar opens the program by introducing John Waite and Kate Lawless from the Franklin County Community Development Corporation. He frames the group as an economic-development nonprofit that offers business development education, access to capital, and commercial office and manufacturing space. Waite says the organization has been around for 45 years. He adds that its work has expanded beyond Franklin County and now reaches across Western Massachusetts. The conversation keeps coming back to small-business development as the core mission. Waite explains that FCCDC served more than 350 clients in fiscal year 2023. He also says the organization loaned nearly $3 million to 31 businesses. Those efforts, he notes, helped create 70 jobs and preserve 114 more. Some clients only need a couple of hours of general guidance. Others need much deeper help, especially when a loan or the food center is part of the picture. The organization holds a monthly information session on the first Wednesday afternoon of each month. That session is meant for people who have an idea and need to figure out the next step. Waite describes the tone as low-pressure and welcoming. State grants help FCCDC provide the first several hours of support for free. He also points to support from the Massachusetts Department of Agriculture. When a project needs more specialized expertise, the organization can bring in consultants. Since COVID, FCCDC has also been making $5,000 and $10,000 grants to businesses. Waite says that support has been especially important for early-stage businesses and for people from marginalized communities. The episode stays grounded in what the organization actually does day to day. It also gives the listener a clear sense of how many different levels of need the staff has to meet. Waite and Lawless describe a regional system that mixes advice, lending, grant support, workspace, and partnerships. The discussion ends by linking business growth with housing. Waite says the region is not isolated and that population growth depends on having enough affordable places to live. He says FCCDC works with the housing authority and the Franklin Regional Planning offices because housing and jobs need to grow together.

As heard by us

A practical look at regional economic development with a clear small-business lens.

BusinessWest editor Joe Bednar frames the conversation as a look at how the Franklin County Community Development Corporation works as a regional economic-development nonprofit.

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Why you'd press play

You want a clear read on how a regional nonprofit helps small businesses get started and grow.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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