Provides developers, business owners, residents, and others with activities to encourage investment, preservation and infill development of commercial districts and residential neighborhoods. Works to access loans and grants to fund projects.

Provides services for clients to find gainful employment or training. Specific services include: counseling and planning, personal and work adjustment training, vocational training, training supplies and books, financial aid to attend post-secondary classes, artificial limbs, braces, eyeglasses, hearing aids, psychotherapy, physical therapy, wheelchairs (if needed to work), occupational supplies, placement, small business development, and follow-up on the job. Also helps disabled students who are transitioning from school to work or college after high school. Some of the above services are provided by other agencies through a referral process.

Provides 16-week (self-paced) employment training program for persons who are blind or severely visually impaired. Program involves management training, food service safety, sanitation, merchandising, customer service, business math, accounting, restaurant law, taxation and vending machine maintenance/repair, as well as on-site work experience. Service includes exam and licensure. Locations are awarded according to agency selection process.

Provides loans of up to $20,000 to Lake County businesses. Assists with business startup and expansion, business plans, government contracts, international trade and referrals.

Provides advocacy, talent and workforce programs, business networking opportunities and cost-saving benefits like health insurance, workers comp group rating and energy programs. Hosts the the Minority Business Assistance Center and Small Business Development Center which provide no-cost small business counseling for start-up and existing businesses.

Assists with starting a business and accessing capital. Offers the following services: * Accounting assistance * Business management counseling * Help with certifications * Contract procurement * Estimating/bidding assistance * Identifying local resources * Loan assistance * Marketing plan development * Referrals to financial assistance programs * Program provided through partnership with Akron Minority Business Assistance Center (MBAC) hosted by the Akron Urban League (AUL) to bring business counseling services to Richland County.

Provides 16-week (self-paced) employment training program for persons who are blind or severely visually impaired. Program involves management training, food service safety, sanitation, merchandising, customer service, business math, accounting, restaurant law, taxation and vending machine maintenance/repair, as well as on-site work experience. Service includes exam and licensure. Locations are awarded according to agency selection process.

Provides low interest loans and fixed financing for business loans for persons interested in starting a new business, expanding their current business, or those in need of renovation.

Offers information and assistance to individuals interested in starting or who own a small business. Assistance includes access to capital, entrepreneurial development, government contracting and advocacy for small businesses.

Provides a wide variety of services that support the attraction, expansion and retention of local businesses, assure their competitiveness and help them remain as assets to the local economy.

Provides a program designed to facilitate small business growth, job creation, and access to capital. SBDC's provide confidential one-to-one business advising at no cost, management training, and educational programs. It is the only statewide system that works with entrepreneurs in all industries, at all stages of business growth. The Ohio SBDC Certified Business Advisors utilize a business coaching process to assess the business situation and work with entrepreneurs to think through problems, identify the need, find options, and pinpoint solutions. The District 6 SBDC can provide assistance with items such as: access to capital, business plan development, guidance on government regulations, buying/selling business, feasibility analysis, financial analysis, growth strategies, human resources, management, marketing, research, and strategic planning, just to name a few.

Provides interest free loans up to $10,000 for people who meet the agency's eligibility requirements. Funds are available for small business, tuition, medical expenses, home improvements (including improvements that increase accessibility in a home), high-interest (predatory) debt on funds borrowed from other sources, and a variety of other needs. May include multiple debts into one loan request as long as amount requested does not exceed $10,000. Checks are written to the organization that is owed, not to the individual.

Provides training on various topics and programs are available and can be customized for schools, colleges/universities, faith-based organizations, healthcare systems, employers, legal systems, service providers and other audiences.

Offering various seminars for small businesses, including: - Business Basics, Part 1. - Business Basics, Part 2. - How to Write a Business Plan.

Makes loans to businesses in Lakewood for up to 40% of eligible cost, or a maximum of $30,000 per project, for exterior building repairs/renovations and interior building code improvements. A comprehensive improvement to the facade, in accordance with the architectural standards and sign ordinance, is mandatory.

Mentoring organization that provides free counseling, resources, and advice to people who are in business or want to start a business.

Provides services for clients to find gainful employment or training. Specific services include: counseling and planning, mobility training, personal and work adjustment training, vocational training (including small business development), training supplies and books, artificial limbs, braces, eyeglasses, hearing aids, psychotherapy, student financial aid to attend post-secondary classes, physical therapy, wheelchairs (if needed for work) occupational supplies, placement, and follow-up on the job. Clients accepted in the program develop a plan for employment with a staff counselor that they meet with periodically during a specified time for follow-up. Services are time-limited. Services include transitional assistance from school to work or college for students who are graduating from high school.

Teaches nonprofit organizations how to begin summer lunch programs and 3-Generation Family ESL programs. Educates the community about poverty in the suburbs via speeches, poverty simulations, newspaper articles and television news stories.

Provides advocacy for business in the Greater Port Clinton area and Ottawa County.

Offers office, lab and light manufacturing space as well as a tech incubator program, a mentoring program and a software accelerator.

Provides management counseling and guidance to small business owners and managers and those who are considering starting, growing or exiting a small business. Clients are matched with volunteers who provide one-on-one assistance. Offers seminars on a variety of topics about starting, growing, running and exiting a small business. Topics may include creating a business plan, keeping business records, marketing and finance.

Provides services for clients to find gainful employment or training. Specific services include: counseling and planning, personal and work adjustment training, vocational training, training supplies and books, financial aid to attend post-secondary classes, artificial limbs, braces, eyeglasses, hearing aids, psychotherapy, physical therapy, wheelchairs (if needed to work), occupational supplies, placement, small business development, and follow-up on the job. Also helps disabled students who are transitioning from school to work or college after high school. Some of the above services are provided by other agencies through a referral process.

Provides services for clients to find gainful employment or training. Specific services include: counseling and planning, mobility training, personal and work adjustment training, vocational training (including small business development), training supplies and books, artificial limbs, braces, eyeglasses, hearing aids, psychotherapy, student financial aid to attend post-secondary classes, physical therapy, wheelchairs (if needed for work) occupational supplies, placement, and follow-up on the job. Clients accepted in the program develop a plan for employment with a staff counselor that they meet with periodically during a specified time for follow-up. Services are time-limited. Services include transitional assistance from school to work or college for students who are graduating from high school.

Hosts the Minority Business Assistance Center (MBAC) at Lorain County Urban League which serves the needs of Ohio’s small, minority and disadvantaged businesses. The center provides the following services - technical assistance, professional consulting, access to capital, and assistance obtaining contract opportunities. A primary objective of the program is to identify emerging businesses and cultivate their growth and sustainability.