Rush County to benefit from Indiana's small business grants

Indiana Governor Mike Braun is growing entrepreneurship and strengthening Indiana’s small business economy, awarding grants through the state’s Community Collaboration Fund (CCF) that will support 22 community-led, regionally driven projects.

These awards will help accelerate projects focused on entrepreneurial education, tech enablement and small business acceleration statewide.  

"Making Indiana the very best place to start, build and grow a business is a driving force of my administration,” said Gov. Braun. “These grants will support programs identified by communities as critical to the growth and success of their entrepreneurial and small business economies, supporting long-term job creation and wage growth. Thanks to the commitment and creativity of our regions, these programs will help founders and leaders bring new ideas to life, implement new technologies and future-proof their businesses.” 

Indiana ranks top five in the US for small business survival and 12th in the nation for the rate of new entrepreneurs, according to the Kauffman Institute. CCF provides matching grants to support new community collaborations, services and programming that are filling critical gaps in resources and further strengthening Indiana’s entrepreneurial ecosystem 

The projects selected for 2026 CCF funding – which are outlined below – focus on helping entrepreneurs and small businesses start and scale more quickly, access capital and new markets, and leverage technology and artificial intelligence. The state’s grants, totaling $757,000, will support $1.18 million total invested in these projects, which are expected to serve more than 6,000 current and aspiring entrepreneurs and small businesses across the state. 

The CCF Grant awards include $40,000 for the Regional Entrepreneur Pipeline (REaP).  It is an eight-week, implementation-based cohort program serving Rush, Henry and Fayette Counties to support the launch and growth of small businesses in rural communities. The program offers hands-on guidance in business formation, financial systems, succession planning and digital market access to produce measurable outcomes and support long-term economic resilience in the region.