Lilburn Businesses Compete for $250,000 Grants

Two weeks ago, Lilburn Patch related the story of the Winokurs, a Lilburn family with a business in Tucker who needed votes to move on to the next level for a a $250,000 small business grant from Chase and Living Social with their Mission: Small Business Program. On June 21, Megan Winokur posted on their Stone Mountain Clay & Glaze Co. Facebook page that they had made their 250 votes, giving them the opportunity to move on to the judging panel for the grant consideration.

Mission: Small Business began taking applications and votes on May 7th; the voting period ends this Saturday night, June 30, at 11:59 p.m. The mission is to award up to 12 individual grants worth $250,000 each to small businesses who qualify – and those coveted votes are part of the qualifying process. The money can be used for expansion, upgrades or improving products and services.

Those small businesses who applied had to meet certain criteria during the application process which included:

• Being a for-profit only organization organized and residing in the U.S.
• A history of at least 2 consecutive years (preceding the program) of the current business activity
• Owners must be legal residents of the US  and must have a valid employer identification number or taxpayer identification number;
• Businesses were considered “Small Businesses” if it consists of less than 100 employees throughout  the Program;

Anmong those things that made a business ineligible for the grants are those businesses who have been under investigation for fraud or criminal activities; promoted the illegal use of weapons or drugs, or the underage use of alcohol; encouraged or practiced discrimination; or resorted to unsportsmanlike or in an inappropriate manner while participating in the Program. 

Applicants had to include an essay outlining the business, its success and unique contributions and involvement in the community. The essay was to include the use of grant monies in a business plan for future growth.

As of June 26th, there are 14 Lilburn businesses who are participating in the Mission:Small Business Program:

• Everblessed Corporation
• Unique Face Options, Inc.
• Rainwater Sound
• Nina J Spicer Foundation
• Kevin Wilson Master Locksmith 
• Garlic Clove Foods 
• Beautiful You
• Deep South Helicopters
• DeoBioSciences
• Neil Engineering, Inc.
• Aggie Technologies LLC 
• LL Virtual Services, LLC

The Lilburn Patch supports the residents and businesses in Lilburn; we encourage you to vote for your favorite small business.