Centre County nonprofit’s program for entrepreneurs loses $70K in federal funding
A Centre County nonprofit is making adjustments to a program supporting local entrepreneurs after the loss of nearly $70,000 in federal funding.
The Rivet Makerspace, located at 1224 N. Atherton St. in the Discovery Space of Central Pennsylvania, lost the funding with the Trump administration’s dismantling of the Minority Business Development Agency, the nonprofit recently announced.
The funding was previously made available through The Rivet’s partnership with Bridgeway Capital’s Capital Readiness Program (CPA), a grant initiative supported by the MBDA. It was supposed to be put toward The Rivet’s branch of the Alliance for Creative Rural Economies (ACRE) program — a Pittsburgh-based initiative that supports cohorts of rural, creative entrepreneurs.
While a federal judge in Rhode Island has blocked the shutting-down of the agency, Michele Crowl, executive director of Discovery Space and The Rivet, said Monday that grant funding through the CPA would no longer be made available.
“We brought this program to Centre County to offer personalized, holistic support: in-person gatherings, expert-led webinars, one-on-one coaching and stipends for services specific to each entrepreneur’s business journey. Without this funding, we’re no longer able to offer the one-on-one expert sessions or service stipends that made the program truly transformative,” Crowl wrote in a press release last week.
According to the release, while The Rivet’s ACRE program only allows for 18 entrepreneurs to take part, the effect that the entrepreneurs have on the community after is “far-reaching,” as they and their businesses create jobs, drive innovation and utilize local spaces that help build a stronger economic future for the county.
Some of the program’s participants wrote about the funding cut in the release, along with how the program has been beneficial to them so far.
“Although I am twenty years into running my business, it is only in the past two years or so that I really thought of it as such,” Ann Tarantino, a current ACRE program participant and local artist, wrote. “This program at The Rivet has provided crucial resources I didn’t know I needed, like the chance to talk to a lawyer about the legal health of my business, or how to price my work and communicate it more clearly.”
Sarah Zappe, a program participant and the founder of Kaleidoscope PA, said the program provided an “invaluable” service to her by connecting her with other local artists. Chobi Dubroy, a local artist who’s also currently participating in the program, said that it helped her learn business aspects that it would’ve taken her years to learn on her own.
Despite the federal funding cuts, Crowl and the rest of The Rivet’s team are working to continue the program, but doing so could become more difficult in the future.
“Our grant pipeline is also shrinking. Fewer avenues of support exist,” wrote Crowl, referring to the recent layoff of staff at the Institute for Museum and Library Services — a federal agency that previously offered up to $250,000 in grants.
The Rivet has called on increased donations from the community to keep the program alive. Those looking to donate can do so by visiting the nonprofit’s ACRE program support page.
The Rivet will also be part of this year’s Centre Gives event, which will start at 8 a.m. on Wednesday, May 14, and end at 8 p.m. on Thursday, May 15.