VCEDA Funds Will Be Used to Support Dickenson Small Business Incubator Project
CLINTWOOD, VA – DECEMBER 12, 2025 -- A $42,500 grant from the Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority (VCEDA) to the Dickenson County Industrial Development Authority (IDA) will assist in the development of a small business incubator space at the Dickenson Center for Education and Research (DCER) in Clintwood, VA.
The funds will be used to make improvements to 3,200 square feet of unused space at the DCER and for workforce and small business development and training as the Dickenson County Community Business Launch program is started.
“The new program is planned to foster local entrepreneurship by constructing small business incubator space and offering comprehensive support services to assist small businesses going through the incubator program,” said VCEDA Executive Director/General Counsel Jonathan Belcher. “The IDA has indicated it is likely five businesses can be housed in the new incubator space.”
In addition to allocating the physical space for start-ups to grow, the Community Business Launch program will also allocate funds to provide comprehensive support to the businesses housed in the DCER space, including training, workshops and meetings, as well as covering participant curriculum fees, workbooks, facilitators and staff support.
The IDA plans to use Opportunity SWVA to run the programmatic piece of the initiative and has recently hired a new full-time community marketing specialist (primarily funded by Appalachian Regional Commission funds) to oversee the day-to-day operations of the program and to serve as the first point of contact for business incubator participants.
The program, which is expected to launch in spring 2026, will include a business pitch competition component with monetary support and free incubator space for one year for the winners of the pitch competition.
“The IDA’s goals for the program include creating new local businesses in sectors in which there are shortages in the county, the creation of new jobs and new private investment and helping to support disadvantaged entrepreneurs,” said Dickenson County Dana Cronkhite. “The VCEDA funds will serve as anchor capital that can be used as matching funds for state funding from the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development’s Community Business Launch grant program, for which the IDA has been approved $50,000.”
The IDA also received $100,000 from the Cumberland Plateau Planning District Commission’s Cumberland Plateau Regional Opportunity program (CPROP) to be used for the incubator project.
About Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority and Southwest Virginia’s e-Region: The Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority, created by the Virginia General Assembly in 1988 to enhance and diversify the region’s economy and help create jobs, markets Southwest Virginia’s e-Region and its focus on electronic information technology, energy, education, emerging technologies, and entrepreneurship. VCEDA is a unique economic development organization that manages funds for economic development projects from a percentage of the coal and natural gas severance taxes paid by coal and natural gas companies that operate in the region. Located in southwestern Virginia, the region includes Buchanan, Dickenson, Lee, Russell, Scott, Tazewell, and Wise counties and the City of Norton. www.vceda.us or www.e-Region.org.
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PHOTO CAPTION: VCEDA Executive Director/General Counsel Jonathan Belcher, left, presents a ceremonial check for $42,500 to Dickenson County IDA Executive Director Dana Cronkhite to be used assist with the development of a small business incubator project in Clintwood, VA.