Fox Valley Entrepreneurship Center receives $20,000 grant

BATAVIA - Fox Valley Entrepreneurship Center in Aurora received a $20,000 grant from First National Bank to help local businesses. This award lets the FVEC assist additional businesses accelerate growth to grow in the community.

"We are very excited to receive this funding," says Austin Dempsey, FVEC board president and co-founder. "Together, First National Bank and the FVEC will impact the future of local entrepreneurs, creating sustainable local jobs in the process."

The grant is part of the Community Reinvestment Act and this is the fourth year the FVEC has received funding from First National. "It's important for the bank to invest in the community and help it grow," says Mike Algrim, commercial banker at First National Bank. "The FVEC is doing all the right things to stimulate sustainable growth."

Since its inception in 2010, the FVEC has provided instrumental assistance to companies throughout the Fox Valley area. To date, the center has helped companies retain nearly 400 jobs, create more than 150 new positions and brought in nearly $2 million in private equity. Their vision is to be an active partner in making the Fox Valley a fertile ground to start up new businesses and help grow established companies, adding value to the community.

First National has committed $100,000 in grants throughout the state of Illinois. In 1977, Congress enacted the CRA as a way for banks to help meet the needs of the communities in which they operate. This act has helped organizations get the funding they need, making a positive impact on the local economy.