Neigborhood Business Development Center (NBDC)

Greater Auburn-Gresham Development Corporation (GADC) is a Neighborhood Business Development Center as defined by the City of Chicago.(NBDC) as defined by the City of Chicago. We can assist small businesses with:
1) City Incentive Programs like the Small Business Improvement Fund (SBIF), Tax Increment Financing (TIF), TIF Works and Streamlined TIF
2) Referral to Financial Resources
3) Networking Opportunities
4) Community and Regioanl Marketing Initiatives
5) Technical Assistance for (trouble-shooting) city-related issues for small businesses
When to Contact Your Neighborhood Business Development Centers
Chambers of commerce and business organizations have a strong neighborhood network and coordinate efforts with local aldermen, the City, and other community partners. They help implement the City’s Neighborhood Small Business Growth Strategy. They can help businesses with:
- Information about a particular neighborhood
- Getting a new small business started
- Troubleshooting City-related issues for small businesses
- Connecting businesses to financial resources
- Business-to-business networking opportunities
- Employment and workforce development assistance
- Consumer marketing assistance
- Connecting your business to the local community
Visit us at on the Auburn Gresham Community portal under Businesses to find learn more about the local services we are offering to the businesses in our NBDC service area.
To find other neighborhoods supporting local businesses, click on link to go to the City's empowering businesses and protecting consumers site to get to Know Your City and Local Neighborhood Business Development Centers.

BACP offers free business education workshops or webinars every Wednesday afternoon and Friday morning. Due to COVID-19, all programs are currently being offered as webinars. Topics include business licensing, operations, financial resources, marketing, and more. Programs are free and open to the public and taught by industry professionals, not-for-profit agencies, and government agencies.
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BACP offers free business education workshops or webinars every Wednesday afternoon and Friday morning. Due to COVID-19, all programs are currently being offered as webinars. Topics include business licensing, operations, financial resources, marketing, and more. Programs are free and open to the public and taught by industry professionals, not-for-profit agencies, and government agencies.
BACP offers free business education workshops or webinars every Wednesday afternoon and Friday morning. Due to COVID-19, all programs are currently being offered as webinars. Topics include business licensing, operations, financial resources, marketing, and more. Programs are free and open to the public and taught by industry professionals, not-for-profit agencies, and government agencies.
Reminders and Resources:
Winter Outdoor Dining Guidance
Chicago is committed to ensuring that bars and restaurants can operate outdoors safely and successfully during the fall and winter months. Please visit chicago.gov/winterdining for up-to-date guidance for safe outdoor service.
Chicago Reopening Guidelines
The City of Chicago has developed industry-specific guidelines for safely operating within Phase IV: Gradually Resume. These guidelines are part of the city’s Be Safe Chicago framework that will be used to guide Chicago’s reopening process amid COVID-19. Please review the guidelines to keep your business in compliance.
Tips to Protect Chicago's Businesses
Chicago-based chambers of commerce and business support organizations, often referred to as Neighborhood Business Development Centers (NBDC), assist in the development of small businesses in Chicago, serve as liaison between local businesses and the City of Chicago, and provide neighborhood business development services. They have have a strong neighborhood network and coordinate efforts with local aldermen, the City, and other community partners. They can help start-up entrepreneurs and existing business owners. Find your local NBDC by visiting chicago.gov/NBDC.
Extension of Business Relief
As a reminder, last month the Chicago City Council passed a law to extend critical regulatory relief into 2021. The following measures are now in place:
- Extension of License Expiration Dates: All licenses that expire between March 15, 2020 and June 15, 2021 will be considered active until July 15, 2021 and those businesses can operate during that time without renewing their license or paying a fee.
- Extension of Sidewalk Café Permit Expiration Date and Extension of Reforms: All current Sidewalk Café Permits will be considered active through May 31, 2021 and businesses with a Sidewalk Café Permit can operate their current Sidewalk Cafes until that date without renewing. Additionally, all Sidewalk Café Permits issued for the 2021 season will benefit from the temporary reforms implemented in 2020: permit fee reduction of 75%, the ability to extend in front of neighboring property and an expedited permit issuance process.
- Extension of Expanded Outdoor Dining Program: The Expanded Outdoor Dining Program, through which bars and restaurants can operate outside on private property or closed streets, has been extended to last through the end of 2021.
Business Education Resources:
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** 2021 **
The Year of the Small Businesses Comeback!
Chicago Reopening Guidelines
Please let us know how we can be of service to help you start, maintain, grow and connect you with financial resources, access to training to improve or start your business, trouble-shooting City of Chicago issues and connecting to local resources in the community. Your new business resource development contact, Norma Sanders and she can be reached at the Greater Auburn-Gresham Development Corporation (GADC) office or via email at nsanders@gagdc.org:
As we continue to manage through these unprecendented times as we work to improve the local businesses in our service area remember safely socail distanced or virtually:


For more information on SHOP SOUTH and to see a list of services and resources offered as part of the GAGDC Neighborhood Business Development Center, click here