COSE Awarded $100,000 Energy Grant from State
Cleveland, June 16, 2010 — The Ohio Department of Development has awarded the Council of Smaller Enterprises (COSE) a $100,000 grant to fund projects that provide energy efficiency assistance to small businesses.
The grant, which runs from June 15, 2010 until June 15, 2011, will have COSE offering free or discounted energy efficiency resources and education to small businesses across the State of Ohio. The resources will be offered to participating small businesses on a first-come first-serve basis. COSE will partner with Ohio’s Small Business Development Center (SBDC) network to help identify small business participation. The SBDCs located here in Northeast Ohio include, the Cuyahoga SBDC at the Urban League of Greater Cleveland, the Lake County SBDC, the Buckeye Area Development Corporation.
The resources and educational programming that will result from the grant will specifically target Ohio small businesses which spend less than $150,000 per year on energy costs. The grant funding will also provide technical services for at least 150 Ohio small businesses to help them save energy and money through greater implementation of energy efficiency measures.
COSE and the SBDCs across the State will coordinate with qualified energy auditors to conduct energy audits for small businesses to identify opportunities for energy savings. They are also collaborating to educate small business owners to enable them to identify energy savings, make efficient energy decisions and properly structure a loan application if needed.
“COSE is proud to have been selected by the State to deliver these timely resources and education to small business in Ohio,” says Steve Millard, executive director of COSE. “Lowering energy costs is important for small businesses and it will be even more important down the road as energy efficiency mandates start to take effect.”
COSE is committed to helping small businesses save money by making them more energy efficient and more competitive. COSE was selected for the grant from a competitive pool of applicants based on their ability to provide energy efficiency services, and the ability to respond to the rising needs of small businesses to develop greater energy efficiency. COSE was named last year as the Energy Efficiency Administrator for Small Business in the First Energy Territories.
About COSE
COSE is one of Ohio’s largest small business support organization, striving to help small businesses grow and maintain their independence. Comprised of more than 17,000 member companies, COSE has a long history of fighting for the rights of all small business owners, whether it’s through group purchasing programs for health care, workers’ compensation, or energy, advocating for specific changes in legislation or regulation to benefit small business, or providing a forum and resource for small businesses to connect with and learn from each other. (www.cose.org)
# # # # #