"Rebuild, Rebrand and Revitalize our low-income communities in Englewood and surrounding communities through Small Business and Entrepreneurship development."
GECDC has supported for the past 3 Years over 800+ entrepreneurs and start-ups with free business development support through experts in the field of strategic planning, capital access, legal services, marketing and much more. GECDC has joined the #GivingTuesday campaign so that we may help more entrepreneurs and small businesses build capacity and make a greater impact in our low-income communities, like Englewood (Chicago). Englewood Accelerator − one of GECDC’s major accomplishments since 2015 launching the community shared office space on the southside of Chicago (Englewood). Since this time, we have entrepreneurs and small businesses working together in this 1,200 space building capacity helping to relieve some of the stresses of start-up and operations costs. – GECDC is expanding, as there are multiple startups on a waiting list for office space on the southside of Chicago.
Our Goals:
- Identify a satellite location to expand our Englewood Accelerator shared office space for small businesses.
- Twice per year offer an incubator cohort for small businesses and upon completion, each business receive $10,000 for startup.

Success Stories:
Obsidian Rising LLC
http://www.obsidianrisingllc.com
Owner Name: Terra Sinkevicius
Mission: The mission of Obsidian Rising LLC is to edify and economically empower our communities through strategic investments in infrastructure that will create jobs, businesses and revenue. Obsidian Rising LLC purchased it first vehicle and has
booked several clients in 2018!
Children deserve to travel from home to school in safety and style. Seniors need to arrive on time to their appointments. People need to have options in their busy lives. Obsidian Rising Transportation offers safe, affordable, reliable comfortable rides to all those in need of transportation.
Greater Englewood CDC provided one-on-one business coaching, workshop training and assistance with developing a start-up business plan model, which was required for the Englewood Quality of Life Business Plan 2017 business plan competition. Obsidian was selected for the final round and received $1,000. Our team continued to work on our business model with Greater Englewood CDC and worked the coaching team to identify capital to purchase a vehicle.
My Crafty Table Sewing and Crafts
Felicia Alston, Owner and Instructor
https://www.mycraftytable.com/
My Crafty Table Sewing and Crafts Cafe offers creative learning opportunities for people of all ages and abilities. Our goal is to help you find and develop your creative energy, which helps you to grow in other areas such as in school, on the job, or just in spirit.
Greater Englewood CDC provided the coaching, education, access to multiple financial and business resources, and personal encouragement that led me to 1ST PLACE IN THE 2017 ENGLEWOOD BUSINESS PLAN COMPETITION. The ongoing support I continue to receive is ensuring I bring all my ideas to life.
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