Kent County Today

Delaware State Chamber of Commerce issued the following announcement on Oct. 29.

Cinnaire has been awarded a $40,000 grant from the TD Charitable Foundation to support Jumpstart Wilmington, a free mentorship and training program that empowers community members to become developers of their own neighborhoods. Cinnaire’s program is modeled after the original Jumpstart Germantown program, which was created by Ken Weinstein to facilitate the revitalization of the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia through high-quality residential renovations.

“Jumpstart Wilmington creates the opportunity for residents to gain industry knowledge and access to capital to successfully break into the real estate development industry,” said Dionna Sargent, Cinnaire Vice President, Community Development. “This generous grant from the TD Charitable Foundation will strengthen our program, increasing local developer capacity in Wilmington while encouraging residents to revitalize their own neighborhoods. Our Jumpstart Wilmington team is honored to receive this grant and we look forward to working with the TD Charitable Foundation to support healthy, diverse communities.”

Increased local developer capacity in Wilmington is the key to scaling development activity and revitalizing communities more rapidly. Jumpstart Wilmington provides aspiring developers who live in Wilmington with the skills, knowledge, and support they need to rehabilitate key properties, one at a time. The program components include a 12-hour training program, finding development opportunities, assessing the economics of a deal, putting together financing, strategies to sell or lease, mentoring, access to capital and more. Cinnaire’s first Jumpstart Wilmington Cohort launched the first week of October. Future cohorts are scheduled for February, May, and August 2021. Applicants interested in applying for future Jumpstart Wilmington cohorts can visit https://jumpstartwilmington.org/ for information. 

Original source can be found here.