Huge news - we need your help!

We’ve been approved for a big grant! You can help out here - Patronicity link - or at the QR link above.

After applying for a grant through MGCC - the Massachusetts Growth Capital Corporation - this past March, I was approved! This grant will be life-changing. It will provide funds for upgrading the shop with new lighting and by adding an AC/dehumidifier (doing lots of heavy lifting in a stuffy, hot room with one little fan is a challenge at the best of times), and adding or upgrading shop machinery and tools, such a larger jointer/planer so I can start using wider boards, saving me tons of time. A big part of the work process is cutting and milling (making lumber flat and parallel on four sides). It takes hours and is hard physical work. A larger jointer and planer means I don’t have to cut wider boards in half and do twice as much milling. Win for the clients and for me!

One of the biggest benefits of the grant is that it will enable me to buy some critical health/safety machines and PPE. Everyone knows how tough things have been these past few years and how important it is to keep everyone safe. Working in a wood shop is dangerous no matter how careful you are. As the single owner and operator, any time I get an injury or get sick, it sets me back - no money comes in, clients’ projects are pushed back, and everyone’s stress levels go up. The professional grade dust collection and duct work, and high-end powered respirator will keep my lungs clean and healthy, and the ear protection I’ll get will keep any tinnitus to a minimum - the machines I use are loud.

The Biz-M-Power grant helps small businesses, particularly minority-owned, with their acquisition, expansion, improvement or lease of a facility, purchase or lease of equipment, or with meeting other capital needs for the business. It’s a matching grant, and they will match any successful campaign up to $20k, a critical infusion of up to $40,000 in total for small businesses.

Because MGCC is matching every donation dollar-for-dollar, any and everything you can donate would be a huge help. If you can’t help monetarily, any shares to your networks - Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc. - would go a long, long way. Plus, there are incentives!

Thank you all so much! Support like this keeps small, local businesses thriving.