GREEN BAY, Wis. (WFRV) – The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) and the Startup Hub in Green Bay have provided entrepreneurs with $10,000 grants to people to help their businesses grow.

WEDC CEO Missy Hughes visited the Startup Hub today to talk with some of the 17 business owners who have set up workspaces within the building.

Hughes says, “It’s really amazing to be able to go and visit businesses all around the state, and hear from the different business owners about how they’re able to make their dream come true.”

The grants have gone toward a variety of businesses. One of them is the car wrap installation company Sicwraps. Owner Ryly Sann says, “Without the grant, I don’t think [the business] would’ve been able to blow up the way that it did.”

The grant gave Tee Sims of Big Papa Boogie Productions the space for children and young adults to make music.

Sims says, “It catapulted me to create an environment that I wouldn’t have been able to do myself. That grant made this dream a reality.”

It’s not just companies that are benefitting from the grants, but churches and nonprofits as well.

All Saints Presbyterian Church now has spaces for administrative offices. Pastor Chad Baudhuin says, “To have [the grant] to help stimulate us, and help us be able to do things we might not have been able to do right away, has been great.”

Giving is Good Inc. is a nonprofit that gives back by improving the lives of others putting together shoe boxes that include, personal items, school supplies, toys, and clothing that are distributed throughout the World.

With the grant money, the organization now has a space to put the shoe boxes together. Founder Michelle Blackman says, “We are able to receive so many more donations now. We were turning away people and now we’re able to say ‘yes, we have the space.'”

WEDC has given grants to more than 6,600 businesses across the state. To learn more about grant eligibility, click here.