Continuing — Coconino County offers $ave2Learn Post-Secondary Education and Business Start-up/Expansion Match Saving Grants

 

For more information, visit: www.coconino.az.gov/ida

Or, contact IDA Recruitment (ida@coconino.az.gov),
Program Manager Scott Neuman (679-7463; sneuman@coconino.az.gov), or Program Manager III Diana Abele (679-7214; dabele@coconino.az.gov).

 

 

For more information, visit: www.coconino.az.gov/ida

Or, contact IDA Recruitment (ida@coconino.az.gov),
Program Manager Scott Neuman (679-7463; sneuman@coconino.az.gov), or Program Manager III Diana Abele (679-7214; dabele@coconino.az.gov).

 

 

By Coconino County Health and Human Services

Please call — 928-679-7463 — M-Th (8am-6pm) to discuss enrollment in our Individual Development Accounts (IDA) match saving grant program and our next Building Businesses & Entrepreneurs (BBE) business plan development 9-week, Zoom-based training beginning Tuesday (6/15/21). In this email I’m forwarding information, below and attached, on each program. Besides your completed BBE application we need a photo or scan of your driver’s license to prove county residency. If the address isn’t current please also provide a utility bill, lease, or bank statement showing your name and current Coconino County residential address.

Applicants also take a short online assessment of their entrepreneurial inclinations/capacities by clicking on the following weblink (https://www.bdc.ca/en/articles-tools/entrepreneur-toolkit/business-assessments/pages/self-assessment-test-your-entrepreneurial-potential.aspx). An applicant’s scores help us understand how suited they’ll be for business start-up and ownership.  After completing the assessment applicants should email me their scores. (Note: There is no need to provide contact information on the assessment website unless one wants to receive solicitation from that entity.)

Our business development resources help budding and currently struggling micro-entrepreneurs as shared in a 2020 ECONA e-newsletter (see below).

Our linked promo video helps highlight why we assist county residents to start, stabilize, and/or expand micro-businesses (five or fewer employees). Our IDA match saving grant helps income and asset eligible participants fund either their micro-enterprise or a certificate or degree yielding, accredited post-secondary education. Since 2007 hundreds have benefitted from our IDA grant opportunity and/or BBE training, formerly known as Basic Business Empowerment. We now contract BBE facilitation from the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) which will offer free business counselling for years to come.

Call now for information and/or to enroll for our Spring 2021 BBE, Zoom-based training, 6-9pm, Tuesdays, June 15th through August 10th. The class fee is only $125 and includes LivePlan writing template portal access. We also offer a need-based 50% BBE training scholarship. Also, sessions are recordedin case participants miss a class or need additional review. Please share this information with others and let me know if you have any questions. We are here for your success.

 

IDA Eligibility Requirements — IDA program eligibility requires: 1) Proof of Coconino County residency, 2) Government-issued photo identification, 3) Household’s last federal tax filing and two-months of recent pay stubs, 4) Current credit report (only for IDA-Business), 5) Earned Income to save (SSDI, SSI, & unemployment income are not earned income), 6) Household net-worth (owned assets minus owed liabilities) of $10,000 or less, excluding home and primary vehicle, and 7) Household annual adjusted gross income not exceeding 200 percent of the federal poverty level ($25,520 for a 1-person household, plus $8,960 for each additional household member).  Note: Those eligible for Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) or TANF typically qualify.