Federal Grant Award Summary

The Northern Kentucky Community Action Commission, Inc. (NKCAC) received $796,400 in Community Services Block Grant Discretionary Awards (CFDA 93.570) funding from the Office of Community Services, effective September 30, 2025, through September 29, 2028. Under the Community Economic Development (CED) component of this program, NKCAC partnered with Aviatra Accelerators to implement the Ready to Hire (R2H) Initiative, designed to create or expand at least ten businesses throughout Northern Kentucky and Covington. The grant provides direct loans to participating small businesses for capital expenses including equipment purchases, capacity expansion, and workforce hiring. Aviatra Accelerators delivers business coaching and profitability planning services to ensure participating businesses achieve viability and workforce readiness. The first participant, Boundless Beauty Studio, utilized funding to purchase equipment and vehicles for mobile beauty service delivery and acquire technology for managing an expanded client base.

In addition to loan capital and business advisory services, NKCAC delivers comprehensive wraparound supportive services to participating business owners and employees, including childcare assistance, English language classes, behavioral health treatment, transportation assistance, and workforce development services. The project is projected to create 29 new full-time jobs, with 22 positions targeted for individuals with low incomes, thereby meeting the CED program requirement that at least 75 percent of jobs created serve individuals below 200 percent of Health and Human Services poverty guidelines.