25 Minority Businesses Awarded Grants

As part of our continued efforts to promote local business success, we are excited to announce the recipients of the 2025 cohort of the MBE (Minority Business Enterprise) Grant program. The Entrepreneurial Advisory Committee has distributed a total of $270,000 in funding to 25 locally-owned small businesses. The grants were awarded in December 2024 for business costs incurred throughout 2025.

The MBE Grant fund was established in 2020 as a response to the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and was funded with local donations.The goal of the fund is to promote sustained economic recovery and job retention for Black and Latinx-owned small businesses in Winston-Salem and Forsyth County. Over the past five years, the fund has allocated a total of just under $1.2 million, with the 2025 cohort marking the final round of recipients. Over the course of the five-year fund, 104 grants have been awarded to 76 local businesses in total. 

This year’s recipients include 19 Black-owned businesses and six Latino-owned businesses. Each business received funding to support special projects or general operating expenses such as salary, wages, lease or rent payments, working capital, and capital expenditures. Grantees will report quarterly in 2025 on the use of the funds and the outcomes generated.

The following businesses have received grant funding for 2025:

 “This program has been a transformational opportunity for local minority-owned businesses,” says Lorena Muñoz-Holladay, co-chair of the Entrepreneurial Advisory Committee. “Over the course of the grant program, we have seen proven outcomes in jobs being retained and generated, and in businesses increasing their revenue. I am thrilled to celebrate the successes of our final cohort and their continued contributions to our community.”

“The MBE Grant program exemplifies our community’s commitment to fostering equitable economic development,” says Mark Owens, President and CEO of Greater Winston-Salem Inc. “Thanks to the support of our donors and the leadership of the Entrepreneurial Advisory Committee, this program has empowered minority-owned businesses to thrive and create lasting impact. We are very proud of the results achieved over the past five years.”

The MBE grant program is managed by the Entrepreneurial Advisory Committee, consisting of Black and Latinx business leaders in Forsyth County. Greater Winston-Salem Inc. provides the grant program with financial oversight and organizational structure. While this year marks the conclusion of the MBE Grant program, we remain committed to advancing equitable opportunities for all local businesses through our programs and initiatives. Greater Winston-Salem Inc. also offers Chamber membership scholarships to minority and women-owned businesses on an ongoing basis.  

Donors: Allegacy Federal Credit Union, Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist, Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Babcock, The Budd Group, Alan and Lisa Caldwell, Cook Medical, Jean C. Davis, Brenda Diggs, Duke Energy, Flow Automotive, Flow Lexus, Front Street Capital, Paul Fulton, Drew and Kelley Hancock, Javara, Bill McClain, Modern Automotive, L. David Mounts, David Neill, Novant Health, the Prim Family Foundation, Reynolds American, Ben C. Sutton, Jr., the Truist Charitable Fund, Claire and Randall Tuttle, Wells Fargo (Business) and the Wells Fargo Foundation, John Whitaker, and the Whitaker Park Development Authority.