Business start up help Massachusetts

Allston Brighton Community Development Corporation
15 North Beacon Street, Allston, MA 02134
Phone: (617) 787-3874
Fax: (617) 787-0425
E-mail: info@allstonbrightoncdc.org
URL: http://www.allstonbrightoncdc.org

Economic Development: The Allston Brighton CDC has created a comprehensive program to improve opportunities of Allston Brighton residents. We offer financial management training, matches savings programs, technical assistance to small businesses, and computer training to adults and families in Allston Brighton.

Berkshire Enterprises
One Fenn Street, Suite 301, Pittsfield, MA 01201
Phone: (413) 448-2755
Fax: (413) 448-2749
URL: http://www.berkshireenterprises.com/

“Helping entrepreneurs turn their business dreams into practical realities”

Boston Community Capital
Elyse Cherry, Chief Executive Director
56 Warren Street Suite 300, Roxbury, MA 02119-3236
Phone: (617) 427-8600
Fax: (617) 427-9300
E-mail: bclfjones@aol.com
URL: http://www.bostoncommunitycapital.org/

Geographic Area Served: Metro Boston, MA
Type of Financing: Housing, Business

Cambodian American League of Lowell, Inc./Microenterprise Training and Loan Program
60 Middlesex Street, Lowell, MA 01852
Phone: (978) 454-3707
Fax: (978) 441-1781
URL: http://www.cambodianamerican.com/

Geographic Area Served: Greater Lowell, Massachusetts, particularly the downtown and highlands areas (Urban)
Mission: To help low- and moderate- income families, particularly Southeast Asians, to start a business or expand their existing one.

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Center For Women & Enterprise
Renaissance Park, 1135 Tremont Street, Boston MA 02120
Phone: (617) 536-0700
Fax: (617) 536-7373
E-mail: info@cweboston.org
or
255 Park Avenue, Suite 205, Worcester MA 01609
Phone: (508) 363-2300
Fax: (508) 363-2323
E-mail: info@cweworcester.org
URL: http://www.cweboston.org/

The Center for Women & Enterprise (CWE) is a 4-year old non-profit organization whose mission is to empower women to become economically self-sufficient and prosperous through entrepreneurship.

Commonwealth Corporation
The Schrafft Center, 529 Main Street, Boston, MA 02129
Phone: TDD/TTY (800) 439-2370 or Voice (800) 439-0183
Fax: (617) 242-7660
URL: http://www.commcorp.org/

Cooperative Life
277 Federal Street, Greenfield, MA 01304
Phone: (413) 774-7599
Fax: (413) 773-3948
E-mail: info@cooplife.com
URL: http://www.cooplife.com

Cooperative Life is the Northeast Federation of Cooperatives dedicated to building a thriving cooperative economy. Directed by a board of cooperative leaders from across the region, we work together to build a strong presence for cooperatives in the media, in the public policy arena, and in the economy. Cooperative Life provides products and services to help cooperatives meet the needs of their customers, create strategic partnerships, launch new cooperative enterprises and improve their business performance in a fast-changing marketplace.

Dorcester Bay Economic Development Corporation
594 Columbia Road, Dorchester, MA 02125
Phone: (617) 825-4200
Fax: (617) 825-3522
E-mail: info@dbedc.com ,
URL: http://www.dbedc.com/

To meet the needs of a larger number of local business owners who do not fit traditional bank lending profiles, DBEDC formed a small business lending and business and assistance program. The Dorchester Bay Neighborhood Loan Fund was designated as a Community Development Finance Institution in 1998 and is the only in-house revolving small business loan fund among Boston CDC's. The fund makes loans from $500 to $25,000 and also packages sizable loans in the range of $100,000 to $400,000 for local banks.

The Economic Development and Industrial Corporation of Lynn (EDIC/Lynn)
Economic Development & Industrial Corporation, 37 Central Square, Lynn, MA 01901
Phone: (781) 581-9399
Fax: (781) 581-9731
E-mail: msmalley@broadviewnet.net
URL: http://www.lynndevelopment.com/Offices_EDICLynn.html

Service Area: City of Lynn. Through innovative programs, EDIC/Lynn is able to put financing tools into the marketplace that allows for capitol to become available at very attractive rates.

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Elizabeth Stone House/Women's Business Opportunity Program (WBOP)
6 Notre Dame Street, Roxbury, MA 02119
Phone: (617) 427-9801 x406
Fax: (617) 522-0468
URL: http://www.elizabethstonehouse.org

Geographic Location Served: City of Boston and Suffolk County, Massachusetts (Urban)
Mission: WBOP is a microenterprise development program for low-income women. It increases economic literacy, builds self-esteem, increases practical skills, and faclitates the establishment of new businesses.

Fall River Office of Economic Development (FROED)
One Government Center, Fall River, MA 02722
Phone: (508) 324-2620
Fax: (508) 677-2840
E-mail: director@fallriver-ma.com (Director of Economic Development)
URL: http://members.aol.com/FROEDMA/oedfin.html

As a one-stop financing center, the Fall River Office of Economic Development (FROED) works closely with public-sector agencies and the banking and investment communities to identify available sources of capital. FROED's in-house lending programs can be combined with private, state and federal funds. The result is a below-market financial package tailored exclusively for your business.

Fenway Community Development Corporation
73 Hemenway Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02115
Phone: (617) 267-4637
Fax: (617) 267-8591
URL: http://www.fenwaycdc.org/

Community Business Network (CBN) staff offer a full range of business development services to existing and start-up entrepreneurs. These services are delivered directly by the CDC and/or our partners. In every case, CBN staff work closely with you, the entrepreneur, to develop a plan that will help you reach your goals and succeed. We help business owners to access available business development resources in the Boston area.

Greater Gardner Community Development Corporation
8 Parker Street, Gardner, Massachusetts 01440
Phone: (978) 630-2975
Fax: (978) 669-0099
E-mail: info@ggcdc.org
URL: http://www.ggcdc.org/

Offers microbusiness assistance - non-traditional financing, technical assistance and workshops and seminars.

Hilltown Community Development Corporation/Hilltown Business Program and Hilltwon Enterprise Fund
PO Box 17, 432A Main Road, Chesterfield, MA 01012
Phone: (413) 296-4536
Fax: (413) 296-4020
URL: http://www.hilltowncdc.org/

Geographic Area Served: 11 towns in Hampshire and Hampden Counties in Massachusetts (Rural)
Mission: We promote rural cooperation as a way to ensure the best quality of life for Hilltowners. Our goal is to improve the management skills of business owners, so they can earn a good living and create jobs for local people.

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Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corporation
31 Germania Street, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130
Phone: (617) 522-2424
URL: http://www.jpndc.org/

The JPNDC can help you analyze your business funding needs and prepare loan application packages. We are able to help you access loans from a variety of sources including private banks and special loan programs.

Jewish Vocational Service of Greater Boston, Career Moves and Microenterprise
105 Chauncy Street, 6th Floor, Boston, MA 02111
Phone: (617) 451-8147
Fax: (617) 451-9973
URL: http://www.jvsjobs.org/

Career Moves is a part of JVS of Greater Boston created in partnership with Combined Jewish Philanthropies to provide customized career counseling services, networking opportunities and job leads to Jewish professionals in the Greater Boston area. Career Moves also specializes in serving employers by matching professional job candidates with corporate recruitment needs.

Link to Area Offices
URL: http://www.jvs-boston.org/contact/directions.htm

Lowell Small Business Assistance Center
169 Merrimack Street, Lowell, MA 01852
Phone: (978) 441-1889
Fax: (978) 441-6824
URL: http://www.lowellsbac.org

Geographic Area Served: Outreach is directed to the City of Lowell; however, all of the centers' services are available to all users regardless of residence (Urban, Suburban).

Lower Cape Cod Community Development Corporation
P O Box 1860, Mercantile Plaza, North Eastham, MA 02651
Phone: (508) 240-7873
E-mail: lcapecdc@cape.com
URL: http://www.lowercape.org/

The focus of Business Builders is on cottage industries, small businesses, the fishing industry, the aquaculture industry...and the dreams, goals and expertise of individuals who want to control their own destinies. To this end, the Business Builders Programs provide micro loans, business training, technical assistance, and on-going support to all the diverse businesses found on the Lower Cape.

Madison Park Development Corporation
2201 Washington Street, Roxbury, Massachusetts 02119
Phone: (617) 541-3900
URL: http://www.madison-park.org/

Lower Roxbury Community Corporation, which later formed Madison Park Development Corporation, was forged in the heat of crisis. The survival of the community was literally at stake in 1966 as homes, businesses, and institutions were being razed by bulldozers in the name of "urban renewal" and the expansion of Interstate 95. That was until a small group of community activists fought back. With courage and persistence, the group rose like a phoenix from the ashes and garnered the resources needed to rebuild the once thriving community.

Main South Community Development Corporation
875 Main Street Worcester, MA 01610
Phone (508) 752-6181
Fax: 508-797-4514
E-mail: contactus@mainsouthcdc.org
URL: http://www.mainsouthcdc.org/

The Main South CDC is working to revitalize the Main South community through the implementation of a number of development projects. By incorporating these comprehensive development projects into our list of services, we ensure that the broad goals of our community improvement initiatives are maintained.

Massachusetts Association of Community Development Corporations
99 Chauncy Street, Boston, MA 02111
Phone: (617) 426-0303
Fax: (617) 426-0344
E-mail: macdc@macdc.org
URL: http://www.macdc.org/

The Massachusetts Association of Community Development Corporations is a trade association of over 65 non-profit, community-based organizations that seek to revitalize low and moderate income communities across the Commonwealth. We support community development corporations (CDCs) in their efforts to encourage social change and empower poor and working class people through activities such as affordable housing development and rehabilitation, commercial real estate development, employment training, small business development, and community organizing.

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Massachusetts Office of Business Development
Phone: (800) S-CAPITAL
URL: http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=eoedhomepage&L=1&sid=Eoed&L0=Home

Southeast Region
U-Mass Dartmouth
285 Old Westport Road, Dartmouth, MA 02747
Phone: (508) 997-1438

Greater Boston Region
10 Park Plaza, Suite 3720, Boston, MA 02116
Phone: (617) 973-8686

Northeast Region
600 Suffolk Street, 4th Floor, Lowell, MA 01854
Phone: (978) 970-1193

Central Region
340 Main Street, Suite 650A, Worcester, MA 01608
Phone: (508) 792-7506

Western Region
Springfield State Office Building
436 Dwight Street, Room B-40, Springfield, MA 01103
Phone: (413) 784-1580

The mission of the Massachusetts Office of Business Development (MOBD) is to assist in the creation and preservation of jobs in Massachusetts. At the core of everything we do is an attitude that says we're at your service. We help businesses currently located in Massachusetts, as well as those outside the state that are interested in expanding, relocating, or simply exploring a range of business opportunities here.

Oak Hill Community Development Corporation
74 Providence Street, Worcester, MA 01604
Phone: (508) 754-2858
Fax: (508) 754-0138
E-mail: info@oakhillcdc.org
URL: http://www.oakhillcdc.org/

Promotion of economic stability and self-sufficiency through access to training, capital and planning resources for low- and moderate-income residents, local businesses and potential entrepreneurs. To date, Oak Hill CDC has linked more than 160 individuals with jobs, provided job training to nearly 300 others, helped organize the Grafton Hill Business Association and sponsored the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Annual Worcester Works Job Fairs, each of which has linked more than 200 local residents with nearly 40 employers.

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Pioneer Institute for Public Policy Research
85 Devonshire Street
Boston, MA 02109
Phone: (617) 723-2277
Fax: (617) 723-1880
URL: http://www.pioneerinstitute.org/entre/guide/entre_dir.cfm

Directory of Microenterprise Organizations
URL: http://www.pioneerinstitute.org/entre/directory.cfm

"Pioneer Institute is an independent, non-partisan, privately funded research organization that seeks to change the intellectual climate in Massachusetts by supporting scholarship that challenges the "conventional wisdom" on Massachusetts public policy issues. The Institute believes that individual freedom and responsibility, limited and accountable government, and the expanded application of free-market principles to public policy contribute to greater human dignity, happiness, and economic prosperity."

Quaboag Valley Business Assistance Corporation
3 Converse Street, Palmer, MA 01069
Phone: (413) 283-3003
Fax: (413) 283-2474
E-mail: qvcdc@juno.com
URL: http://www.qvcdc.com/

Services include:

Business Plan Assistance

Marketing Strategy Assistance

Startup Assistance

Workshops/Seminars/Training and Courses

Loan Application Assistance

Salem Harbor Community Development Corporation
Phone: (978) 745-8071
Fax: (978) 745-4345
E-mail: shcdc@cove.com
URL: http://www.shcdc.org/

HELP (Helping Entrepreneurs Learn and Prosper) is our small business assistance program, launched in 1998, which offers loans from $1,000 to $25,000, technical assistance, and training.

Southeastern Economic Development/Microenterprise Program of Southeastern Massachusetts
88 Broadway, Taunton, MA 02780
Phone: (508) 822-1020
Fax: (508) 880-7869
URL: http://www.seedcorp.com

Geographical Area Served: Bristol, Plymouth, Burnstable, Dukes and Nantucket Counties in Massachusetts (Rural, Suburban)
Mission: To provide small business financing to business who have five or fewer employees, promote job creation within business communities, and target low- to moderate- income individuals.

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Starting a Business in Massachusetts
URL: http://www.dor.state.ma.us/Business/newbusiness.htm

State Office of Minority and Women Business Assistance
State of Massachusetts
URL: http://www.somwba.state.ma.us/

SOMWBA certification is a marketing tool used to enhance a firm's ability to do business in public markets. Although certification does not guarantee that a business will be successful every time it bids, it may add a competitive edge to a bid. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts spends more than $4 billion each year doing business with firms. More than $240 million of this amount is targeted to SOMWBA certified minority and women businesses. Becoming SOMWBA certified can help firms seeking contracts with the government.

Twin Cities Community Development Corporation
195 Kimball Street, Fitchburg, MA 01420
Phone: (978) 342-9561
Fax: (978) 345-7905
URL: http://www.twincitiescdc.com/

Mission Statement: The Twin Cities Community Development Corporation (CDC) is a membership organization led by the diverse resident and business communities of Fitchburg and Leominster. We invest in and organize residents to help our communities build assets such as quality housing, good jobs, strong businesses and effective leaders.

University of Massachusetts Extension
Stockbridge Hall, UMASS, Amherst, MA 01003
Phone: (413) 545-5301
Fax: (413) 545-6555
E-mail: umext@umext.umass.edu
URL: http://www.umassextension.org/

University of Massachusetts Extension is part of a nationwide public university research and outreach network linked through its federal partner, the United States Department of Agriculture. The four current Program Areas are closely affiliated with research faculty in one or more academic departments of the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

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Wellspring House
302 Essex Avenue, Gloucester, MA 01930
Phone: (978) 281-3221
Fax: (978) 281-6092
URL: http://www.wellspringhouse.org/

Wellspring Community Economic Development is a Wellspring House program committed to providing our community with equal access to human, social and economic resources to help meet people's basic needs. Our purpose is to support the growth of sustainable local businesses and enterprises that foster commerce, create jobs, strengthen the local economy and contribute to the health and well being of the world community.

Western Massachusetts Enterprise Fund
P.O. Box 1077, Greenfield, MA 01302
URL: http://www.wmef.org/

Greenfield office:
308 Main Street
Phone: (413) 774-4033
Fax: (413) 774-3673

Springfield office:
Springfield Enterprise Center at STCC, 1 Federal Street, Bldg 101-R
(413) 739-6300
Fax: (413) 739-6800

The Western Massachusetts Enterprise Fund (WMEF) provides financing and technical assistance to entrepreneurs and small businesses in the five counties of western Massachusetts.

Worcester East Side Community Development Corporation
218 Shrewsbury Street, Worcester, MA 01604
Phone: (508) 799-6942
Fax: (508) 799-0110
E-mail: escdc@acol.com
URL: http://webpages.charter.net/escdc/

The Worcester East Side Community Development Corporation is a non-profit founded in 1987 through the joint efforts of residents of the East Side and the East Side Neighborhood Crime Watch. We hired our first Executive Director in 1995. Providing training and access for start-up and existing businesses - The CDC works with businesses to apply for loans at local banks and through the City of Worcester and alternative lending programs.

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