Courtney Curatolo

Three Economic Development Organizations Collaborate to Deliver Over $675,000 in FundingCHAUTAUQUA COUNTY, NY --- The County of Chautauqua Industrial Development Agency (CCIDA), Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at Jamestown Community College (JCC), and CHQ Chamber have announced the completion of their successful business assistance programs. Since 2021, the three organizations have been collaborating to assist area businesses or nonprofits with grant funding to upgrade their marketing tools and presence, with more than 80 different employers directly benefitting from the related programs intended to assist with recovery from the effects of the COVID pandemic. The largest program to be implemented was the CCIDA Business Marketing Assistance Program, which focused on marketing grants of up to $10,000 for small businesses (less than 50 employees), with funding provided through Chautauqua County’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) allocation. The first round of the program, launched in late 2021, resulted in 41 businesses receiving grants. It proved to be so successful that several businesses were placed on a waiting list until a second round of funding could be secured. That occurred in early 2023 through a grant from the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation. As a result, an additional 35 business were assisted through the marketing program. A third round of the program was initiated in June 2023 following a second allocation of Chautauqua County ARPA funding, with eight additional businesses being assisted. In all, 84 businesses benefited from the marketing grants, averaging approximately $7,750 each. All said, more than $650,000 was granted out to businesses, not-for-profits, and other agencies as a result of this program. COMPLETE LIST OF BUSINESSES IMAGE INFORMATION: More than 80 different Chautauqua County businesses benefitted from the recently completed Business Marketing Assistance Program, including (clockwise from upper left): Carlberg Farm, Ohm Nohm Gluten Free, Pearl City Cycle, and Integrity First. “The pandemic presented unprecedented challenges, and local business owners had to adapt to succeed,” said Mark Geise, Deputy County Executive for Economic Development and CCIDA CEO. “Helping businesses to evolve and expand their marketing reach became the driving force behind this program – ways to help businesses increase foot and on-line traffic in order to boost their sales. Marketing is crucial; however, it is typically the one area that gets reduced during difficult financial times.” The administration of the Marketing Assistance Program was provided by both SBDC and CHQ Chamber, which helped to promote and market the grant opportunity to businesses across the county.  “While marketing is a critical aspect for any business, it tends to be pushed off to the side due to limited time and resources,” said Courtney L. Curatolo, Ph.D., Director, SBDC at JCC. “The ARPA and Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation funds enabled these businesses the freedom to be creative in an effort to promote their businesses in unique and diverse ways. Not only did the businesses that were awarded the funds see an impact, but we also encouraged everyone to use local vendors for their marketing needs to increase the impact. This has been a great partnership between the CCIDA, SBDC, and CHQ Chamber.”  “One positive during the pandemic was a renewed focus on shopping and supporting local,” said Daniel Heitzenrater, CHQ Chamber President & CEO. “These grants helped small local businesses market their products while connecting them with support organizations like the Chamber, SBDC and CCIDA. In addition to supporting many traditional marketing and advertising projects, it has also been exciting to see our local businesses thinking outside of the box to propose and implement new ideas.” Another program that was launched to assist businesses was the Economic Gardening Program, which provided customized data, analysis, and technical assistance to select “Stage 2” Companies (those poised to grow) to help elevate their business planning, with the intent of growing revenue and employment. The program was offered through the Invest Buffalo Niagara economic development agency. The total amount of funding committed to the program was $25,740 and was provided through the County’s ARPA allocation. A total of six county businesses benefited (two of which also received funds from the Business Marketing Assistance Program). Companies benefitting from the Economic Gardening Program included Jamestown Plastics, Jamestown Advanced – Homestead Implements, Dahlstrom Roll Form, Double A Vineyards, El Greco Furniture, and Barton Tool. The CCIDA, SBDC, and CHQ Chamber also worked with Insyte Consulting to launch a third program to assist businesses. The Company Culture/ESG Program was launched to assist manufacturers (up to 500 employees) with developing strong Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) polices, which help to guide companies toward long-term success. Through this program, Insyte Consulting and the CCIDA developed a self-auditing “white paper” that was widely distributed to manufacturers throughout the county. Over $700,000 in total funding was provided for the three programs through Chautauqua County ARPA funding and from the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation. County Executive PJ Wendel said, “The COVID Pandemic was a trying time for employers of all types and sizes across the country and around the world, including here in Chautauqua County. We recognized it was extremely important to help as many of our local businesses as possible, and are grateful that we as the County and the Wilson Foundation understood this and were in a position to assist businesses with the necessary funding needed to implement these program. We hope these businesses were not only able to stay open, but also flourish, as a result of our support. I also wanted to commend the CCIDA, the JCC SBDC, and the County Chamber for teaming up to bring these programs to fruition.” A list of all businesses that benefitted from the grant programs can be found online in the news section of ChooseCHQ.com. About CCIDA - The CCIDA is an economic development organization authorized and empowered by the State of New York to make Chautauqua County a better place to work, live, and visit. It facilitates development by attracting new businesses, while promoting the retention and expansion of existing businesses. Assistance in the form of incentives – tax abatements, low interest loans, and bond financing – enhances the opportunities for job creation and retention by our businesses. For more information visit ChooseCHQ.com. About SBDC - The New York Small Business Development Center (NYSBDC) provides small business owners and entrepreneurs in New York with the highest quality, confidential business counseling, training, and business research at no cost.  New York SBDC is a Partnership Program with the SBA, administered by the State University of New York. Funded in part through a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration. All opinions, conclusions or recommendations expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the SBA. All SBA funded programs are extended to the public on a nondiscriminatory basis. For more information visit SBDCJCC.org. About CHQ Chamber - The CHQ Chamber is the third largest business advocacy organization in Western New York and represents over 900 businesses throughout Chautauqua County. Our mission is to build vital connections, provide professional resources, and champion our local businesses in Chautauqua County. For more information visit CHQChamber.org.

We work to highlight a partner or community organization that is doing great things in our county. This month, we are highlighting SBDC with Courtney CuratoloCourtney Curatolo, Ph.D. joined the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at Jamestown Community College (JCC) in 2018 as the Center’s Director. She is committed to maximizing the small business climate in the three-county region including Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, and Allegany Counties. Courtney's background includes experience in both the corporate and nonprofit sectors building skills in economic development, strategic planning, marketing, leadership training, government affairs, and development and implementation of public -private partnerships. She holds a B.A. in Political Science, an M.A. in Public Administration, and a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Research Methodology with a focus in Adult and Community Educational Leadership. 1. How are things going at the SBDC? (How many individuals were assisted in 2023, remind the general public of your mission and services) Administered by the U.S. Small Business Administration, the SBDC at JCC works with regional businesses in Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, and Allegany Counties to help them succeed. The SBDC delivers high quality business counseling and training to clients looking to start a business or improve the performance of an existing business. Services are confidential and free of charge. Services include business plan development, accounting guidance, financial projections and budgeting, marketing assistance, procurement guidance, cost analysis, complying with permit, licensing, and other regulations, loan information and packaging assistance, grant details, minority and women business certification help, and start up guidance. Since our start in 1986, advisors have worked with close to 13,000 businesses, helping them to invest more than $176,000,000 into the area’s economy and create or save more than 9,000 jobs.  The SBDC has grown by leaps and bounds over the past five years.  In fact our team of 6 have tripled our client numbers, increased the financial impact on the area, helped create and save thousands of jobs, and implemented various training opportunities for small business owners.  In addition to our traditional services, the SBDC at JCC hosts a Women in Networking program each month to promote female business owners, works with JCC students to place them in social media internships, and has an online business academy. The SBDC Online Business Academy offers various webinars and certifications that can be viewed from anywhere at any time that is convenient. Online classes focus on entrepreneurship, intellectual property, website development, ecommerce, social media marketing on different platforms, succession planning, and more. We also have certification programs in Social Media Marketing and Entrepreneurship Essentials. You can access the Online Business Academy at www.sbdcbusinessacademy.com. Recently, I've created a new event called the Resource Partner Pop Up Program. We have set up Resource Partner Pop Up Events in small towns throughout our region. I bring partners from the SBDC, SBA, Laine Accelerator, JCC Workforce Development, the Workforce Investment Board, and the IDA to a location like a library to meet with business owners and answer their questions. Any agency that provides services to the business community is invited to share information and ensure that more and more people in our region know about the help that they can receive at no cost to them. 2. What are your goals for this year? My goal every day is to make sure at least one more person knows about the services of the Small Business Development Center.  We have amazing, certified business advisors that know so much about getting started in business, growing your business, and succeeding along the journey. We have these amazing resources in Chautauqua County and I am glad more and more people are using our services.  Last year our state office gave us a goal of helping to open at least 30 new businesses…the SBDC team helped 61 new businesses open.  I have also started a new program, The Resource Partner Pop Up. I have been partnering with area municipalities to host a pop up event in various communities throughout the three county region. At these events, I invite all organizations that provide services to small businesses. The municipalities, invite their local small business owners. For two hours we share information about how we can help and business owners are able to ask one on one questions and schedule future follow up meetings. It has been a great resource for more business owners to learn about our services. 3. As the co-chair of the CCPEG Business Development Work Group and Advisory Board member, how do these roles align with your role of supporting small businesses in Chautauqua County, and what opportunities do you see for continued collaboration? These positions are very much aligned with what I do every day. I’m honored I was asked to provide my experience and expertise to these roles. Since I moved to the area I have been so impressed with the community members that work together to help create a better quality of life for everyone living here. There is no competition between organizations, and I love being able to contribute to the conversations that lead to solutions. I believe that partnership is success and hope to increase the partnerships that lead to more help for the small business community. Ninety eight percent of the businesses in Chautauqua County are considered small according to the US Government. We need to ensure we are providing a bridge to support them all.  4. What Partnership projects do you consider the most exciting or impactful and why? As a resident of Chautauqua County, I’m personally excited about all of them. I am always excited to tell my family and friends that travel to the area during the summer about how much is going on here year-round.  Professionally, I’m most proud of the entrepreneurship essentials certification program we created with the help of the Partnership. Anyone can take this 4.5 hour course online, whenever it is convenient for them. To learn more about the certification check out the SBDC Online Business Academy at SBDCBusinessAcademy.com. 5. What is something most people don’t know about you? I have 16 nieces and nephews…and am proudly helping to ensure they are all raised as die-hard Buffalo Bills fans, even though they are spread across the country.