Workforce committee considers $2 million for small business development center

In 2011, Dalton Outlaw left his professional boxing career to focus on his business, Element Boxing. This marked a significant step in his journey from childhood poverty to becoming a first-generation college graduate, business owner, developer, and two-time entrepreneur of the year.

Outlaw credits the Neighborhood Development Center for easing his path by providing training and resources to small businesses. "They didn’t just invest in a project, they invested in me," he told the House Workforce, Labor, and Economic Development Finance and Policy Committee on Thursday.

The committee laid over HF1246 that would appropriate $2.25 million from the General Fund in fiscal year 2026 for a grant to the center to support small-business programs. Rep. Samakab Hussein (DFL-St. Paul) is the sponsor.

Rep. Emma Greenman (DFL-Mpls) said the center has a three-decade track record of connecting underserved communities with the resources they need to thrive. The center has assisted 600 businesses and returned more than $10 million in sales and income tax.

President and CEO Renay Dossman detailed the center's initiatives, including biannual business plan training sessions, regular workshops for entrepreneurs, small business loans up to $250,000, and affordable commercial space.

The funding request is 12% of the center’s budget. Of it, $800,000 would be for core services, $150,000 would help implement the center’s model in other communities including St. Cloud, Duluth and Moorhead and $75,000 for operations and marketing of a new cybersecurity center opening this year in partnership with Metro State University.

Additionally, $100,000 would be dedicated to building financial management skills. “It's become clear to us, we need to focus more on that area,” Dossman said.

As he has done following other funding requests, Rep. Dave Pinto (DFL-St. Paul) cautioned that state funding might come through Department of Employment and Economic Development competitive grants instead of direct appropriations, and he suggested center leadership be prepared for that possibility.