Southwestern Commission Region A

The Southwestern Commission is a regional council that was created in 1965 by the county commissioners of Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Jackson, Macon, and Swain counties. The Commission was created in order to provide an organized way for local counties to apply for financial assistance from the government. It was also intended to help encourage cooperation between the counties in order to deal with issues affecting the entire region. The organization is governed by the county commissioners of each member county.

One of the main programs run by the Southwestern Commission is the Area Agency on Aging (AAA) which exists to provide help to the elderly and their caretakers who live within the counties that make up the Southwestern Commission. The goal of the AAA is help elderly people live as independently as possible by keeping them informed on important medical information. It also provides caretaker training throughout the year to help the family members of the elderly meet their needs.

The Southwestern Commission is also heavily involved with improving the physical infrastructure of the counties that it supports. Physical infrastructure is defined as assets like roads, water, and sewer systems. The Commission provides planning and funding for projects designed to enhance infrastructure. It also works to coordinate infrastructure projects that affect multiple counties within the area.

In order to help finance local businesses, the Commission created the Revolving Loan Fund. The fund provides short term loans to help finance local businesses, create new employment opportunities, and make current jobs more secure. The fund has been in existence for twenty years so far, and it has been able to generate over 500 jobs and provide help to over 50 businesses. In order to be eligible for this fund, the business that receives the aid must be a for-profit business that will generate permanent, new jobs. Businesses that generate seasonal jobs or jobs that will be later relocated outside of the area are not eligible.
http://www.regiona.org/index.htm

AdvantageWest

AdvantageWest Economic Development is a non-profit organization that was chartered in 1994 by the North Carolina General Assembly to improve the economy of western North Carolina by attracting businesses, corporations, and anyone else who might bring economic growth to the area. The organization covers the twenty-three counties of western North Carolina. The Board of Directors is run primarily by local business leaders, along with some representatives from local colleges. It receives funding from a wide variety of sources including the state government, the federal government, and local universities. The organization is officially based at the Asheville Regional Airport.

AdvantageWest works heavily with entrepreneurs who have the potential to bring money into the region. They provide aid to new businesses by financing those that have the potential to make a high profit. AdvantageWest is interested in aiding entrepreneurs with strong leadership skills that have unique ideas. The organization also offers entrepreneurial education for business owners in order to help them increase their revenue which will help to improve the economy of the region. One of the largest entrepreneurial aid programs they have started is the Blue Ridge Food Ventures program which is a commercial kitchen facility that helps entrepreneurs with food based products such as caterers or bakery owners.

Another of the major services that AdvantageWest provides is incentives to filmmakers who are looking to shoot movies in the area. Filmmakers who choose to shoot in western North Carolina are eligible for tax benefits. AdvantageWest also offers help in finding locations to shoot and making arrangements for the use of public property for filming. The organization promises no-hassle filming, which includes no regulations or permits.

Finally, AdvantageWest has been involved in increasing the amount of tourism to the area. The organization has received a significant amount of money from the government to market the area to tourists. For people intending to visit the area, they offer suggested itineraries and recommendations on hotels and tourist attractions to visit. They have been making a strong effort recently to attract visitors from Europe because of the current exchange rate between the euro and the dollar.

AdvantageWest has had a significant amount of success in attracting manufacturing jobs to the area. In 2005 and 2006, the organization was able to bring over 2000 new manufacturing jobs to the region. The organization has also brought film projects to the area that generated $85 million in income for the region. Finally, it has been recognized by the federal government for the work that it has done with the region.

http://www.advantagewest.com/

Small Business and Technology Development Center

The North Carolina Small Business and Technology Development Center (SBTDC) is an organization that is devoted to providing information and support to small businesses of the state. The organization was founded in 1984 and is associated with the North Carolina university system with its main office located at North Carolina State. It also receives its funding from the university system. The SBTC has branch offices located throughout the state at the campuses of the North Carolina university system. It operates with the US Small Business Administration, an agency of the federal government. The SBTDC aims to use the resources of the university system to provide aid to small business owners of North Carolina.

One of the main services the SBTDC provides is confidential, free business counseling for North Carolina small business owners. The organization offers advice on subjects like marketing, financing, and strategy. The counselers employed by the SBTDC are university staff members. Since the organization was founded in 1984, over 70,000 people have taken advantage of its counseling services. Unlike other organizations that help business owners, the SBTDC does not offer financial assistance.

The SBTDC also provides aid to small business owners in obtaining government contracts. The primary service that the SBTDC offers to business owners is a computer program called PROBID which matches the profiles of business owners to available government contracts. The advantage of this system is that it saves business owners time because they do not have to search for available contracts on their own. The subscription for this service costs $225 per year. The SBTDC also provides workshops throughout the year in various locations around the state on contract procurement.
http://www.sbtdc.org

Appalachian Regional Commission

The Appalachian Regional Commission is a federal-state partnership that provides funding for projects to promote the economic development and improved quality of life for the people of Appalachia.

-Awards grants to state and local governments, local governing boards and non-profit organizations
-Monitors the progress of the Appalachia Development Highway System
-Funds programs to improve infrastructure, develop an educated workforce and promote a diversified regional economy
http://www.arc.gov/index.do?nodeId=8

Smokey Mountain Development Corporation

The Smokey Mountain Development Corporation is a non-profit economic development corporation organized to create and retain jobs in the region.

-Proves capital to small businesses
http://www.smdc.info/