Partners & Allies

Focused Strength & Support

At the Little Village Chamber of Commerce, collaboration is essential to strengthening the local business ecosystem. Through strategic partnerships we work collectively to support and elevate entrepreneurs across the Little Village business corridor in Chicago. These partnerships allow us to connect local businesses with vital resources, technical assistance, financial opportunities, marketing platforms, and community initiatives designed to increase visibility, foot traffic, and long-term economic growth.

By aligning public agencies, community organizations, and economic development partners, the Chamber helps create programs, events, and campaigns that empower business owners, strengthen the commercial corridor, and celebrate the vibrant culture that makes Little Village one of the most dynamic Latino business districts in the Midwest.

Together, we are building a stronger, more resilient local economy for entrepreneurs and the community they serve.

Special Service Area #25 (SSA #25)

  • Special Service Area #25 (SSA #25) is a taxing district that is an economic development tool. Created by state statute and city ordinance, SSA’s are an additional real estate property tax levy that funds additional services beyond municipal services in a defined district.

  • SSA’s, often known as Business Improvement Districts in other cities, provide a fair and transparent way to finance and manage programs to create, maintain and manage clean, attractive and competitive commercial districts.

  • For the past several years, the SSA #25 has helped community organizations execute their special events in an effort to create traffic on our commercial district. The Chicago City Council created the Little Village SSA #25 on December 17, 2003, and its boundaries expanded on November 12, 2008.

Neighborhood Opportunity Fund

  • The Chicago Neighborhood Opportunity Fund (NOF) is a City of Chicago program established in 2016 to foster economic development in historically underserved South, Southwest, and West Side commercial corridors.

  • It provides reimbursement grants (up to $250,000) for commercial/cultural projects, funded by 80% of fees paid by downtown developers for zoning density bonuses.

BACP's NBDC Partnership

  • Little Village Chamber of Commerce is partnering with the City of Chicago, Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection (BACP), to provide hyper-local support to business owners and start-up entrepreneurs through the Neighborhood Business Development Centers (NBDC) program.

  • Little Village Chamber of Commerce is committed to helping you grow your small business by providing you the tools to support your entrepreneurial journey!

Fund For Equitable Business Growth (FEBG)

  • We work with Fund For Equitable Business Growth (FEBG) partners to support underrepresented entrepreneurs in Chicago, specifically targeting Black and Latine business owners. This collaboration focuses on closing opportunity gaps, providing capital, and fostering local economic growth through tailored resources and bilingual support.

  • The FEBG’s Fund Advisory Group adopted a comprehensive strategy to achieve its goals. That included creating five strategic priorities focused on understanding the needs of underrepresented entrepreneurs and getting them the money and resources they need to support their long-term success.

Small Business Opportunity Center (SBOC)

  • Neighborhood Business Development Centers (NBDCs) are City of Chicago-funded, non-profit entities providing free, local assistance to entrepreneurs, including licensing guidance, technical help, and marketing support. They often house Small Business Opportunity Centers (SBOCs) to focus on access to capital, loan readiness, and specialized,"place-based" or city-wide support for business growth.

  • NBDCs offer one-on-one business counseling, help with city-related issues, and foster neighborhood economic vitality. These centers focus specifically on connecting entrepreneurs with capital and matching them with lenders. They serve Chicago-based small businesses, offering tailored assistance for both new and existing businesses.

Foundation of Little Village (FLV)

  • Our collaboration with FLV is a collaboration that brings common efforts to supporting entrepreneurs in the Little Village community.

Small Business Development Center (SBDC)

  • Illinois Small Business Development Centers are located throughout the state and provide information, confidential business guidance, training, and other resources for start-ups and existing small businesses. 

  • The Illinois SBDC Network works with resource partners across the state to bring equitable programming and resources to increase economic opportunity and workforce development in underserved areas, including both urban and rural communities.

  • Through this entrepreneurial ecosystem, our goal is to educate entrepreneurs, reduce barriers and provide professional guidance for business success making a positive impact on our economy.

Chicago Loves Local

  • Chicago Loves Local is a free shop local campaign available to all 77 community areas in Chicago that is aimed at uplifting and supporting the local businesses that shape the vibrant neighborhoods within our city.

  • The new initiative aims to get more Chicagoans to shop local and support shops from the North Side to the far South East Side near Indiana.

  • Through its Instagram account, the Chicago Loves Local campaign will feature spotlights on small businesses and local business districts. Neighbors are encouraged to share posts on social media about shopping local and leave positive reviews for small businesses on Google and Yelp.

visitlittlevillage.com - Visitors Promotional Website

  • LVCC has been developing a “Visit and Shop Little Village” website (www.visitlittlevillage.com) and promotional social media pages that would serve as the landing page and aggregator for participating Little Village small businesses.

  • The website and pages would also serve as tools to promote individual businesses on a rotating basis and provide links to the websites, e-commerce platforms and social media pages of individual participating businesses.

  • LVCC will launch a program directed to participating business in the promotional website to provide Little Village small businesses direct support in the development of an online presence including websites and social media pages.

  • This will include training for owners, managers and/or key employees on practices to update, sustain and enhance an active online presence. Similar guidance and assistance will be provided to Little ViIllage small business owners to explore and launch E-commerce opportunities where viable and feasible.

Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (IHCC)

  • The Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (IHCC) and the Little Village Chamber of Commerce (LVCC) work together as part of the Illinois Latino Small Business Partnership. This collaboration, which also involves other regional organizations, aims to provide resources, support, and advocacy for Latino-owned businesses in Northeast Illinois.

  • Support for Small Businesses: The partnership focuses on connecting local businesses with financial resources, technical assistance, and government programs, especially for those in underserved communities.

  • Regional Collaboration: By utilizing a "hub and spoke" model, the partnership connects the larger IHCC network with the local expertise of the LVCC to better serve entrepreneurs.

  • Leadership Connection: The partnership is strengthened by shared leadership goals in advocacy and business development for the Latinx community.

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