Downtown Franklin businesses get a boost with Chamber Foundation grants

Franklin businesses on Thursday received grants totaling $30,000 for projects to help expand their reach, improve operations and enhance their overall capabilities.

The Franklin Chamber Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Franklin Chamber of Commerce, gave out grants to 12 businesses through their Small Business Capacity-Building Grant program.

Grant recipients this year are 10 Pins Franklin, A Trophy Business, Arete Purpose Consulting, At Home With Heartland, BYTAVI, Courthouse Coneys, Miss Cara Photography, Natura Wellness, Norton Premier Real Estate, Possibilities: Home Re-Imagined, Sylvan Learning of Franklin and Woven Co. Candles Store. City officials and the foundation’s board presented the awardees with their checks on Thursday.

According to the chamber, recipients went through a “rigorous selection process” and there were more applicants than available funds. The grants helped fund several different projects, including purchasing equipment and software, marketing initiatives and investing in new spaces and events.

“Capacity building is to strengthen your business ..,” said Rosie Chambers, president and CEO of the chamber. “We want to make sure these businesses are very strong. We looked at things like sustainability, longevity and also overall benefit for the community and I think we got some really great representation here.”

The program is funded through a grant from the Franklin Economic Development Commission using economic development fees paid to the EDC by companies with tax abatements. The grants were given out for the second time this year.

“I certainly understand what you go through trying to make payroll and some of you probably don’t even get checks every week because you put your heart and soul into your business, I know how that is,” Mayor Steve Barnett said. “I appreciate that and I tell everyone that we talk to how fragile our downtown businesses are. My biggest fear is one of you go out of business while I’m mayor. I don’t want that to happen, none of us want to see that happen. We all work together to get people here.”

About the projects

Natura Wellness is physically expanding by utilizing some space from the recently closed Gray Goat Bicycle Co., said Kelly Ellis. Alongside getting new office space, the business will offer new services including body analysis, sound beds and online programs.

“We’re really happy we’re changing. (You all) know that with small business, things shift out there and we gotta shift with it, and so this is kind of our shift for that,” she said. “With supplements, it’s difficult sometimes. We’re gonna have what we need for people but it’s also we’re gonna be a showroom of cutting-edge new health products and different technologies.”

At Home with Heartland has lots of plans in the works, including creating a safer entrance. Jennifer Nelson, owner, said she wants to take out a section of the brick wall that goes along the sidewalk to make it more open for customers and visitors. She also wants to remove the rocks near her store and create a green space with outdoor seating and lighting.

As a new phase of renovations on the store starts this fall, she wants to create a communal area with seating that could be rented for weddings, baby showers or business meetings. The business will also be open seven days a week starting in September.

10 Pins Franklin plans to expand upward by utilizing the building’s roof space, said owner Pat Hagan. He is unsure exactly what the expansion will look like but hopes to bring more people downtown for entertainment and create more revenue. Specifically, the grant money will fund an engineering study on the roof space, according to the chamber.

BYTAVI aims to create a mural called “Welcome to the Workshop” that will show the meaning behind the business.

“One of the things I kept hearing was that there were new customers coming in that didn’t realize the bigger story of our store,” said Katie Findley Schwarz, director of BYTAVI. “We’re not just a normal boutique offering clothing, we are a nonprofit organization partnering with vulnerable women in Cambodia to break generational cycles of poverty and prevent human trafficking.”

The mural will depict a workshop where women are sewing, said Erin Bollhorst, boutique manager from BYTAVI. The mural will give customers a view of how the products were made and who they help by purchasing products.

The grant will also purchase hangers and elevate the boutique space.

Woven Co. Candles Store is spending the grant on the store’s first holiday campaign after opening in April. Alongside other marketing strategies, owners will work with local Indiana influencers on featuring their store and maybe others place downtown, said Andrea Shaull, who owns the business with her husband Austin.

Arête Purpose Consulting will use the money for “an immersive art and life experience” program, said Jeff Owen, speaking on behalf of his business partner Beth Johnson, who is a lifelong family therapist, artist and author. Arête Purpose Consulting offers counseling to aid professional, personal and organizational change, according to their website.

The grant will help fund a workshop called “Wisdom of the Nest” at Main and Madison on Sept. 14. It is a day-long workshop where attendees can create art and participate in a life experience, Owen said. The grant will also help purchase software and video equipment to create online content and build a digital community.

Possibilities: Home Re-Imagined is creating a walking tour called Franklin by Foot, said Christina Fletcher, business owner. The tour will start and end at Possibilities and help diversify the shop’s income streams.

The tour offerings will include history walks at different time slots during the day Tuesday through Thursday. Possibilities will also host haunted ghost walks at 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday. The first tour will be Saturday.

Fletcher hopes the tour will give all downtown businesses a boost.

“I want all of us to win, everyone downtown. The more people we get downtown, the more experiences we create, the more they want to come see us,” Fletcher said.

Courthouse Coneys is using the funds to buy more refrigeration to keep operating costs down. The funds will also help pay off the business’s cash register stand. Joshua Black, co-owner, said it’s a “major helper for us to keep everything in line.”

Norton Premier Real Estate is investing in better equipment “to move into the current century,” said Christy Norton, managing broker. She said her computer system is outdated and the grant will help her meet with clients downtown.

A Trophy Business is using the funds for a computer that will enable the business to create a website. Like other businesses, they are trying to get more foot traffic downtown.

Miss Cara Photography will buy equipment for a community studio space, according to the chamber foundation.

Sylvan Learning of Franklin will pursue a postcard mailing campaign. The goal is to make sure underserved people know that free education opportunities are out there, according to the chamber foundation.