Tennessee Valley Federal Credit Union Awards Idea Leap Grants To 5 Small Businesses

Tennessee Valley Federal Credit score Union introduced the winners of the Fourth Annual Concept Leap Grant Pitch Competitors. 

Through the outside pitch competitors on the garden of the Bessie Smith Cultural Middle, finalists had as much as 5 minutes to pitch why they had been deserving of the grant.

A quick Q&A session with judges adopted every presentation. The judges scored the finalists on a five-scale rubric. 

Volunteer judges included Vickye Bone, vp, City League of Better Chattanooga, Jennie DeCook, director, Tennessee Small Enterprise Improvement Middle at Cleveland State Neighborhood Faculty, Emily Gilliam, credit score analyst, Brightbridge Capital, Charles Fisher, accomplice/director, Grant, Konvalinka & Harrison, P.C., Danielle Landrum, co-owner of Locals Solely Presents and Items, 2020 Concept Leap Grant Winner & 2021 Celeb Choose, and Diane Parks, retired director of Management Chattanooga, Chattanooga Space Chamber of Commerce. Dionne Jenkins, vp of range and inclusion at TVFCU, chaired TVFCU’s Concept Leap Grant judging panel. 

First Place — $21,000 

Chatt Style Meals Excursions, LLC, Chattanooga, Briana Garza 

Grant Makes use of: To construct out the area’s first electrical cell eating automotive, an elevated eating room on wheels. 

Second Place — $15,000 

Champion Christian Studying Academy, Chattanooga, Cynthia Evans 

Grant Makes use of: To buy furnishings, playground tools and studying curriculum. 

Third Place — $10,000 

Wild Violet Permaculture, LLC, Sign Mountain, Nathaniel Bankhead and Bryant Hawkins 

Grant Makes use of: To create complete coaching packages and supplies for workers and purchasers, to spend money on future native plant nursery on Sign Mountain, and to scale compost manufacturing and distribution program. 

Fourth Place — $7,000 

Salon Posh, Athens, Allison Stiller Grant Makes use of: To develop salon creating an area for continued schooling for license professionals, in addition to including manicure tables, pedicure chairs and remedy rooms in order that we will supply extra companies. 

Fifth Place — $5,000 

Lil Mama’s Chicago Model Hoagy, Chattanooga, Tiffany Pauldon-Banks 

Grant Makes use of: To spend money on continued employees coaching, advertising and marketing, catering and new tools. 

The Concept Leap Grant is an extension of the credit score union’s Concept Leap Mortgage Initiative that was created particularly for small companies in 2016. So far, TVFCU has funded greater than $3.eight million in loans to rising and early-stage companies via the mortgage initiative. Moreover, TVFCU has awarded greater than $183,000 in Concept Leap Grants. 

For extra details about the Concept Leap Grant, please go to tvfcu.com/IdeaLeapGrant.