Official Site of The State of New Jersey

Have A Business Need? NJBAC Can Help.

The NJBAC is offering no-cost technical assistance, training, and problem-solving – we are here to support all of your Business Enhancement needs. Whether you have a one-off resource question, are looking for a strategic assessment of a district, or could use some quick visualized tactical inspiration to foster visible and tangible change, NJBAC can help. Contact NJBAC Assistant Director Jef Buehler to start the conversation and move towards action.

Today’s email has information on assistance we can provide, as well as about technical and financial resources that may be a fit for your community or district. Please feel free to share this information with other officials, district management stakeholders, and businesses. To see all prior Business Enhancement Connection emails, click here!

Best Practices

The Cannabis Training Academy is Live!: The Cannabis Training Academy (NJ CTA), based at the NJBAC, is a no-cost technical assistance, training and mentorship program that supports eligible cannabis entrepreneurs who wish to apply for a cannabis license in New Jersey while serving as a resource to public officials and the public in general about how commercial cannabis works in New Jersey.  At the heart of the NJ CTA are 10 levels of more than 60 topic modules that educate participants about the NJ Cannabis Regulatory application process, helping them to know what is essential to become licensed and to open a successful business. To register to participate with the CTA use this  direct registration link. To learn more about the CTA (and also to register, sign up for updates and read the FAQ) take a look at the CTA website here.

NJBAC Small Business Manual – Now in Spanish: This one-stop tool for many small business concerns in Spanish can now be found as a digital document online here. And of course the English version is online here. Individual businesses or organizations can order up to 10 printed copies of the English version as well by clicking this link. The printed Spanish version for ordering is still being produced, and will be forthcoming soon!

Free Walkability Webinars – Learn From the Experts: America Walks is providing a new video training resource for public officials, professionals and walkability advocates. This on-demand video series called “The Technical Series” includes pre-recorded content with leading professionals, presenting on walkability topics that allow a deeper dive into the details of policies, implementation or best practices.  The goal is to help advance the knowledge of practitioners in the field, while simultaneously de-mystifying topics for community officials and advocates. Two webinars already up are Understanding the New Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) and A Framework for Integrating Land Use and Transportation. You can register here to take advantage of this quality resource.

Small Business Digital Training – Free and Online: Main Street America is offering live and on-demand webinars to teach small businesses how to maximize their impact in the digital space: These free programs can be found here: Small Business Digital Training. These offerings can be shared as a plug-and-play resource with your district and community businesses to help them elevate their game.

Featured Grants & Support

Local Recreation Improvement Grant – Potential for Placemaking: The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) is now accepting applications from counties, municipalities, and school districts for Local Recreation Improvement Grant (LRIG) Program funding totaling $20 Million. LRIG funds will be awarded to successful grant applicants to help cover costs associated with updating community centers, playgrounds, pools, fields, walking or bicycle trails, rail trails, multi-sport courts, and recreational facilities; one-time personnel costs directly related to improvements; project development professional services costs; equipment costs including playground and recreation facilities equipment; and environmental remediation costs required to prepare recreation sites for use. Program guidelines are found here for LRIG, a sample resolution here for Resolution, and the application is submitted through the SAGE grant portal, here for portal.

Mayors Challenge Grant: For starters, in NJ this grant is only available to the following cities:  Newark, Jersey City, Paterson, Lakewood, Elizabeth, Edison and Woodbridge. That said, Bloomberg Philanthropies' Mayors Challenge calls on mayors to work with residents and entrepreneurs to radically reimagine their most essential municipal services, from public transportation to waste management to housing to emergency response and more.  Cities from anywhere in the world with 100,000 residents or more can apply here for Mayors Challenge Grant through Dec. 20, 2024. Fifty finalists, to be unveiled in March 2025, will receive $50,000 and participate in an Ideas Camp to hone, model, and test their concepts. In October 2025, the 25 cities with the most inventive ideas will each be awarded $1 million and operational assistance to put their ideas into action. Learn more.

NJBAC Can Work With All the Businesses in Your Community

We are here to support your communities’ and districts’ businesses. NJBAC offers free online chat and telephone (800-537-7397) assistance in English and Spanish to any business in NJ – any size, any location, and any type. Businesses can always download the NJBAC Small Business Manual – a one-stop tool for many business concerns – online here. Individual businesses or organizations can order up to 10 printed copies as well by clicking this link.

Our NJBAC team can advocate for businesses, concierge them to funding and technical solutions, help them find locations for growth or developing export markets, guide them to navigating the commercial cannabis sector, and much more. Want to set something up online or on-site for your businesses? Reach out to NJBAC Assistant Director Jef Buehler to get plugged in to all of our business success services.

NJBAC’s Business Enhancement Services is online:  Now you can refer to Business Enhancement Services directly online with just a click!  Please favorite the website – it will be expanding over time as we add new resources and tools that support municipal and district revitalization and place-based business enhancement.