The North Central Massachusetts Development Corporation has launched an Emergency Micro-loan Program in light of the COVID-19 pandemic to assist small businesses that need access to funding due to hardship stemming from the outbreak. Loans of up to $20,000 will be awarded to qualifying local businesses that find themselves in a situation where they need access to capital and want to avoid high-interest credit cards or expensive and un-regulated online lenders. If approved, the business is also eligible to receive business assistance from NCMDC staff and consultants.

“As we work to confront this Public Health crisis, it is important to remember its effects on our local economy,” said Mayor Stephen DiNatale of Fitchburg. “It is absolutely paramount that we come together to support our small businesses community. I encourage us all to think of the ways we can buy local–ordering takeout, buying gift-cards, doing whatever we can to safely support our neighbors–but at the same time efforts like this emergency loan fund will offer a critical life-line to businesses when they need it most. We are so fortunate to have a partner in the Chamber that works so rapidly to support small businesses in North Central Massachusetts.”

To qualify under this program, you must be an existing small business and be able to provide two years of tax returns, as well as demonstrate a direct financial impact of COVID-19 on your business. The loan amounts and terms are flexible to fit the situation of the business.

“We are pleased to see the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce’s emergency fund be offered so quickly,” said Mayor Dean Mazzarella of the City of Leominster.  “No business could have ever planned for this pandemic and local businesses now have a loan opportunity that will take them through this difficult situation.”

Additionally, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) offers low-interest loans to help businesses recover from COVID-19. For more information visit sba.gov/disaster. 

The North Central Massachusetts Development Corporation (NCMDC) is a non-profit economic development corporation with the mission of creating jobs and improving the economy. NCMDC is certified by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), and the U.S. Department of the Treasury under the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Program. The NCMDC works in partnership with local banks, credit unions, chambers of commerce and area nonprofits to support emerging microenterprises, small businesses, and community projects in 76 communities in Worcester, Middlesex and Franklin Counties with loans and business assistance.  Since 1996, the NCMDC has granted over $6,900,000 in loans to small businesses to help grow jobs and the economy in the region.

For more information about emergency micro-loans or the other loan programs available through the NCMDC, please contact Sandie Cataldo, Economic Development Manager at SCataldo@northcentralmass.com or at 978-353-7600 ext 232 or VISIT HERE.

Dear Member,

It has been a difficult couple of weeks, with the world reacting with uncertainty to the Coronavirus and market news. The North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce and our affiliate organizations have been closely monitoring the outbreak and its impact on our members and communities. Our commitment lies with serving you and our region in any capacity we can during this unprecedented time.

I wanted to provide you with an update on how we and our affiliates – the North Central Massachusetts Development Corporation and Visit North Central Massachusetts – are responding. This is our plan as of now, but clearly things could change as new information arises.

Chamber Events: It is important that our members remain safe and secure from any potential exposure to the Coronavirus- therefore the Chamber has cancelled most of our major events for the month of March including our Good Morning North Central Breakfast and the upcoming Economic Forecast Breakfast. Many of our smaller events, forums and meetings in March have also been postponed for now. We will work to reschedule many of these to later in the Spring. Any members registered will receive a credit, or a refund if they prefer. We will be closely monitoring the situation and take any necessary precautions regarding April events and meetings as needed. Please stay tuned for more information or visit our website for the status of our programs.

Webinars: We encourage members to explore the webinar library offered on our website that we launched in the Fall.  Stay tuned for new online opportunities for learning and information exchange. Responding to the current situation and in an effort to support members, the Chamber is working on developing new webinars focused on the complex issues facing businesses during this crisis and post-crisis.

Chamber Operations: Both the Chamber Office and our Johnny Appleseed Visitor Center on Route 2 are maintaining regular office hours for now, with special protocols in place. We want to make sure that that we can continue to be a resource to you, so we have also taken the necessary steps so that our team can work remotely, if they need to.

Coronavirus Impact Survey: In an effort to gain an accurate assessment of the outbreak’s impact to businesses, the Chamber has created this brief survey. Thank you to the many members that have already completed the survey. If you have not done so yet, please take a moment to. All information will be reported in general terms and individual business information will remain confidential. Alternatively, please feel free to reach out to me directly with any challenges or disruptions that you have experienced over the last two weeks.

Coronavirus Information & Resources: We have developed an online page with links to different resources to help educate employers and employees on how to prepare for and address the impacts of the Coronavirus. It includes information from the CDC, State and the US Chamber.  We will update this online toolkit as new guidance and information becomes available.  We encourage you to continue to monitor the outbreak and implement strategies to help protect your customers and employees, with the least possible impact to your operations.

Lending and Assistance: Our team is ready to discuss small business assistance programs and loans to help cover any cash flow challenges you may be experiencing from any disruption in business.  If we can’t help, we can connect you to the SBA or one of our other partners who may be able to assist you. Please contact Sandie Cataldo, Economic Development Manager at 978.353.7600 ext. 232 or Brendan Hannen at ext. 234 for assistance or to inquiry about an emergency loan.

Post-Outbreak Recovery Promotion: Our marketing team is strategizing on a few different marketing campaigns to support small businesses in recovering from the disruption. We are also collaborating with other groups in advocating for the development of a state-wide campaign. Please contact David Ginisi, our Marketing and Communications Manager at ext. 240 if you have any thoughts or ideas.

In closing, we recognize that you may be feeling the impact of this crisis in an immediate and profound way. We are committed to helping you get through this. Please do not hesitate to reach out to us if we can help.

Roy Nascimento, IOM, CCE

President & CEO

Community and business leaders will look to the future of the economy in North Central Massachusetts at the Ninth Annual Economic Forecast Breakfast being held on Friday, March 27, 2020 from 7:45 a.m. to 10 a.m. at the Double Tree by Hilton, 99 Erdman Way, Leominster, MA. Sponsored by Fidelity Bank and in partnership with the Greater Gardner, North Quabbin, Nashoba Valley and Wachusett Area Chambers, the breakfast will feature the results of the annual Economic Outlook Survey and remarks from a panel of three featured speakers. 

This year’s Economic Forecast Panel will feature Dr. Tracey Corley, Transit-Oriented Development Fellow at MassINC; Eileen McAnneny, President of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation; and Dr. Bo Zhao, Senior Economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.

Bo Zhao is a senior economist at the New England Public Policy Center in the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Research Department. He specializes in public finance and urban and regional economics. In 2013, he received the Boston Fed’s President’s Award. Zhao earned his PhD in economics and his MS in applied statistics from Syracuse University. He joined the Boston Fed in 2005 and served on the Municipal Aid Subcommittee of the Massachusetts Municipal Finance Task Force from 2006 to 2007. Zhao was selected by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation as one of 20 young scholars nationwide to participate in the 2005 Entrepreneurship Research Boot Camp.

Eileen McAnneny joined the staff of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation as its President in February, 2015. Founded in 1932, the Taxpayers Foundation is widely recognized as the state’s premier public policy organization dealing with state spending, tax and economic policies. The Foundation’s record of high-quality research and non-partisan analysis has earned the organization broad credibility on Beacon Hill and across the state. Earlier in her career, she worked in the public sector as a staff attorney for the Joint Committee on Revenue of the Massachusetts legislature, playing a key role in numerous significant tax policy changes, including reforms to the corporate tax code, an overhaul of the Appellate Tax Board, amendments to DOR’s administrative practices and updates to unclaimed property collections.  A cum laude graduate of Tufts University and Suffolk University Law School, Ms. McAnneny holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and a juris doctorate in law.   She is a Commissioner of the Group Insurance Commission and on the Board of Directors of the Cooperative Central Bank. She also was appointed by Governor Baker as Vice Chair of the Commission on the Future of Transportation in the Commonwealth.

Dr. Tracy A. Corley, MassINC’s Transit-Oriented Development Fellow, thrives on creating economic opportunities and sustainable livelihoods for people in our world’s metropolitan regions. She brings expertise in economic development, business, labor markets, architecture, law, and public policy to MassINC. As the TOD Fellow, she convenes political and community leaders to spur inclusive development in Massachusetts’ Gateway Cities. Dr. Corley attained her B.A. in Architecture Design from Clemson University and her M.S. in Public Policy and Ph.D. in Law and Public Policy from Northeastern University.

The cost is just $35 for Chamber members/$50 for non-members and includes a breakfast buffet. Tables of ten are also available.  Pre-registration is required. For more information or to register, please contact the Chamber at 978.353.7600 ext. 235 or CLICK HERE. 

The Chamber and its economic development arm, the North Central Massachusetts Development Corp, have hired national economic development strategists RKG Associates, Inc. to assist in the creation of a new economic development plan for the region.  RKG Associates is an economic planning and real estate consultancy with offices in Washington, Boston, Atlanta, Dallas, and Durham, NH. The RKG consulting team for the project will also include FXM Associates, a consulting firm based in Massachusetts that specializes in real estate and transportation, and Hodge Economic Consulting, an economic development consulting firm also based in Massachusetts.   

The RKG led team was chosen after a thorough selection process that included a formal request for proposals from economic development firms, evaluation of the responses received, interviews with finalists, and evaluation of past projects and experience.  The process was led by a selection committee, comprised of twelve business and community leaders. 

The purpose of this effort is to develop a multi-faceted and implementable plan to guide the Chamber’s regional economic development efforts over the next 10 to 15 years, providing for sustainable growth.  In the 1990s, the Chamber led a similar community and business-based planning effort that proved effective in driving economic development efforts over a twenty-year period and led to the creation of many of the region’s economic assets.  Recognizing that much has changed since that first plan was developed and the major impact it had in advancing the local economy, the Chamber felt that the time was right to undergo this process again and develop a new plan for the future.  

“In order to gain a competitive edge, we believe that it is time to reflect on the assets we have in North Central Massachusetts and how we can build on them,” said Roy M. Nascimento, President & CEO of the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce. “We believe it’s important to go through this process to develop a shared vision for the future of the region and a roadmap to ultimately achieve success.” 

Echoing Nascimento’s sentiments, RKG Vice President and Principal, Eric Halvorsen stated, “North Central Massachusetts is at an important point in its history.  It needs to set a new economic path forward that capitalizes on its regional competitive advantages but does so in a way that leverages new economic development opportunities and outcomes.”

The scope of the project includes a data driven assessment of the region’s competitiveness as a place to live, work, visit and do business; identification and analysis of comparable regions locally or nationally for benchmarking purposes; review and analysis of economic development resources and capacity within North Central Massachusetts; outreach and engagement with community, businesses and other stakeholders to gather input to help shape the plan; and the preparation of an economic development strategy and implementation plan. The project is expected to take 6 to 12 months. 

This development of this comprehensive regional economic development plan is part of the Chamber’s continuing efforts to advance the economy of North Central Massachusetts.  For more information on the project, please contact the Chamber at 978.353.7600.