GREENFIELD — Entrepreneurs from across western Massachusetts gathered Wednesday to celebrate the region’s economic growth during the Franklin County Community Development Corporation’s 45th annual meeting.

Executive Director John Waite, recapping the organization’s work in fiscal year 2024 to those gathered at Hawks & Reed Performing Arts Center, said the Franklin County CDC worked with 365 entrepreneurs and processed 43 approved loans. This effort totaled $3.4 million, creating 123 jobs in western Massachusetts. The organization provides business assistance, financing, and rental space to new and existing businesses, particularly to support low-income people and those who face other barriers to starting and growing their businesses.

Waite also highlighted the achievements of the PVGrows Investment Fund, which provides assistance to local farms and food businesses, with the minimum investment for potential investors starting at $500 for a three-year term.

“Our programs and finances are as strong as ever,” Waite said, “due largely to the great staff we have, and to the entrepreneur and business owners we work with.”

Tamsin Flanders, chair of the organization’s board of directors, highlighted the achievements of the lending program. According to the 2024 Impact Report that was handed out during Wednesday’s event, FY24 saw a 21% increase in dollars loaned while serving 39% more clients than FY23. The lending program saw a record high of $3.406 million in new capital to 42 businesses. Modest grants have also been issued over the years, which is in part why the Franklin County CDC is still able to use original funds it has retained since its origins in 1979.

“It just shows how the FCCDC has been instrumental in supporting the small business community throughout the years,” Communications Director Kate Lawless said in an interview.

Flanders also mentioned how the Franklin County CDC is starting its strategic framework planning initiative.

“A strategic framework serves as a lens through which we can make more detailed decisions as they arrive, instead of making all of those decisions at once,” Flanders told the crowded room. So far, more than 88 surveys and 25 interviews have been conducted to help guide the Franklin County CDC’s focus moving forward. “What we’ve learned is that our main focus lies with empowering entrepreneurs and business owners to create a more just, equitable and locally rooted economy. The framework is not finished, but we hope it’ll be finished by January.”

Racial Justice Community Engagement Director Traci Talbert, standing alongside her student Mari Champagne, detailed their regional racial justice efforts through the Franklin County CDC.

Starting in 2020, Talbert and Champagne embarked on interviewing more than 80 individuals in the community over the course of four years to better understand and properly implement initiatives that promote equality in western Massachusetts. Earlier this year, they led racial justice workshops and gave presentations to 15 area businesses.

“I just want to thank the Franklin County community for welcoming me into your businesses and schools to help with dismantling and disrupting the work of white dominant culture that continues to operate invisibly in our systems,” Talbert said, reflecting on her work. “We can’t operate on a flawed system and expect things to change.”

Champagne voiced similar sentiments, expressing her passion for change and her admiration of Greenfield’s community members for their willingness to listen.

“I feel like every time I’m invited to speak at events like this, it feels so shocking since I’m so young and have so much to learn,” Champagne said. “I really love working around justice and being able to kind of bring people into their emotional and spiritual awareness.”

Although the Franklin County CDC relies mostly on grants, 7% of its funds come from community donations. Residents can donate online at fccdc.org/support or by sending a check addressed to the Franklin County Community Development Corporation to 324 Wells St., Greenfield, MA 01301.