SomerCor teamed up with local business organizations and elected officials to roll out four Small Business Improvement Fund (SBIF) districts on the Far North Side. More than 40 businesses attended the informational meeting about the $1.3 million currently available in the community. The SBIF is a program funded with TIF dollars and helps to reinvest taxes into the small businesses in the area. SomerCor is proud to serve the city of Chicago in administering the SBIF and NOF grant programs. We’re excited to support entrepreneurs invest in their businesses to help strengthen our communities.

Special thanks to our partners: the Andersonville Chamber of Commerce, Edgewater Chamber of Commerce, Edgewater Development Corporation, Business Partners – The Chamber for Uptown, Uptown United, Rogers Park Business Alliance, RogersEdge Business Improvement District, Alderman Andre Vasquez, Alderwoman Maria Hadden, Alderman James Cappleman, Alderman Matt Martin and Alderman Harry Osterman.

The City of Chicago’s Small Business Improvement Fund (SBIF) promotes economic development by providing small businesses with financial assistance for building-improvement costs. SomerCor is the program administrator of the City’s Department of Planning and Development for the SBIF program. SBIF grants use local Tax Increment Financing (TIF) revenue to reimburse you for the pre-approved repair or rehab of your business facilities or adjacent land acquisition. You must be located within a SBIF eligible TIF district. The maximum grant assistance for an industrial property is $150K; for a single-tenant commercial property the maximum is $100K; and for multi-tenant commercial property, it is $50K. Click to learn more about this program.