Broward County Commission Regular Meeting
Director's Name: Sandy-Michael McDonald
Department: Economic and Small Business Development
Information
Requested Action
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MOTION TO APPROVE form grant agreement between Broward County and Kauffman FastTrac Entrepreneur Development Program ("Kauffman Program") grant award recipients in substantially the form attached as Exhibit 1; and authorize the Director of the Office of Economic and Small Business Development (OESBD) to execute such grant agreements that do not exceed the annual board-approved appropriation for the Kauffman Program for the applicable Fiscal Year, subject to review for legal sufficiency by the Office of the County Attorney.
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Why Action is Necessary
The funding for the Kauffman Program is approved by the Board as part of the annual Budget, but authority to execute grant agreements is necessary.
What Action Accomplishes
Approves the Kauffman Program form grant agreement and authorizes OESBD’s Director to execute agreements, subject to review for legal sufficiency by the Office of the County Attorney.
Goal Related Icon(s)
☒County Commission
☐Go Green
☐MAP Broward
Previous Action Taken
None.
Summary Explanation/Background
THE OFFICE OF ECONOMIC AND SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT RECOMMENDS APPROVAL OF THE ABOVE MOTION.
This item supports the Board’s goal of “Ensuring economic opportunities and a sustainable economy, with an emphasis on Broward's lower and middle class.”
The overwhelming majority of business startups fail due to lack of adequate planning and capitalization. The FastTrac® NewVenture™ Entrepreneur Development Course is designed to address the problem of adequate planning. The Kauffman Foundation, established over 40 years ago, is internationally recognized as one of the leading foundations for the promotion of entrepreneurism, and sponsors programs focused on urban, minority and woman entrepreneurship, global business development, and entrepreneur research, in addition to the FastTrac NewVenture™ Entrepreneur Development Program. OESBD is in its 11th year of affiliation with the Kauffman FastTrac® Entrepreneur Development Program. To date, affiliation with the Kauffman Foundation has been very successful and has enabled OESBD to provide training and support to over 700 Broward County entrepreneurs at different stages of business development. In December 2015, OESBD launched the FastTrac® NewVenture™ Entrepreneur Development Course. FastTrac® NewVenture™ is a ten-week, three hour per week, training course geared to assist prospective entrepreneurs with developing a solid business plan. In 2023, the Broward County FastTrac® NewVenture™ Program received a National Association of County Information Officers (NACIO) Meritorious Award.
The funding for this program is approved as part of the annual operational budget process and is used to provide seed grant funding to the entrepreneurs completing the ten-week course that win the Course Pitch Competition. The grant funding can be used to address the expenses associated with the startup of new entrepreneurial ventures in Broward County through the reimbursement of eligible expenses.
This item approves the Kauffman Program form grant agreement in substantially the form attached as Exhibit 1 and authorizes OESBD’s Director to annually execute the grant agreements, subject to review for legal sufficiency by the Office of the County Attorney, that do not collectively exceed the annual Board-approved appropriation for the program.
Source of Additional Information
Sandy-Michael McDonald, Director, OESBD, (954) 357-5615.
Fiscal Impact
Fiscal Impact/Cost Summary
None.