WEDC Secretary Promotes “Shop Small Wisconsin” During FDL Visit (Audio)

Missy Hughes, Secretary and CEO of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC), visited Fond du Lac Tuesday 12/13 to promote “Shop Small Wisconsin” as well as tout the Build Back Main Street Program.

What’s WEDC doing in Fond du Lac today?

We’re here to celebrate “Shop Small Wisconsin.” Wisconsin is home to some amazing locally owned businesses that we need to support year-round.

We all know that the holiday season can be a critical time for our main street businesses. In November Gov. Evers declared this to be “Shop Small Wisconsin” season to encourage everyone to consider ways to support local businesses as they celebrate the holidays with family and friends.

Holiday shopping is also a great reason for me to get out and visit some of the more than 7,700 Main Street  Bounceback Grant program recipients and see how these amazing businesses are adding life to our downtowns and commercial corridors.

One of the things WEDC has been doing to get folks to shop small is to encourage members of our board of directors to also shop small. Randy Hopper, who owns the station, invited us to join him in Fond du Lac today as he did his shopping, so we thought this was a great opportunity to get back to Fond du Lac and see what’s been going on.

What’s the Main Street Bounceback program?

The Main Street Bounceback Grant program was created by Governor Tony Evers in 2021 as a way to help communities fill vacant commercial properties and help entrepreneurs open their own storefronts.

The program awards $10,000 grants to businesses that move into a previously vacant commercial property in Wisconsin. The business owners can use this money for whatever they need rent, utilities, staff, inventory.

There are now more than 7,700 recipients in all 72 Wisconsin counties.

It’s been wonderful to see how creatively these businesses have used this funding and it’s been amazing to see the vibrancy these new businesses are adding to our communities.

The program is being funded by $100 million in American Rescue Plan Act dollars.

And there’s still just a little bit of time for entrepreneurs to take part. The program will end on Dec. 31. And I’m truly hoping that we will be able to award all $100 million.

What has the Main Street Bounceback program done for Fond du Lac?

•             64 applications approved in the city of Fond du Lac

•             101 apps approved in Fond du Lac County

•             About half of those approved so far are women-owned businesses, and about one-fourth are diverse-owned.

Where can people go to learn more about WEDC and its programs?

The best place to start is our website WEDC.org. WEDC also has regional economic development directors living in communities across the state who are always willing to help and connect businesses and communities to other resources. You can find information on how to contact these directors on our website as well.