Six Franklin County businesses have benefited from a series of Biz-M-Power grants awarded by MassDevelopment’s Growth Capital Division, with a total of $779,397 being distributed to 62 small businesses across the state.

To receive funding ranging from $2,000 to 20,000, MassDevelopment required that each business raise a 100% grant match through crowdfunding via the Patronicity platform. In western Franklin County, grants were awarded to Sweet Birch Herbals and Clark Brothers Orchards, both in Ashfield, as well as Colrain’s Stoneman Brewery. Other local recipients include Bridge Primary in Greenfield, Flis Market in Erving and Swanson’s Fabrics in Turners Falls.

At Ashfield’s Sweet Birch Herbals, that $9,350 Biz-M-Power grant, coupled with $10,000 in fundraising, supported rebuilding a farm apothecary store.

“We tore down an old barn that was starting to fall down and built a new barn farm store,” said owner and founder Hannah Morano. “It’s pretty much completed; we’re just putting on the final touches.”

The new store on Creamery Road is just awaiting solar panels and other final details. The store is self-service and open to customers everyday, sunrise to sunset. Morano said she was able to salvage most of the old barn, and reuse old walls and siding. Rotten wood was replaced, and the building was given new footings and was weatherized.

“We made a short video to post on the [fundraising] campaign and there was a lot of support. We were able to raise $10,000 in 30 days,” Morano recounted. “It was amazing. I’m so grateful I live in a community that supports small businesses.”

Morano added she is grateful there is support for natural medicine in Franklin County. Sweet Birch Herbals sells creams, syrups, tinctures and teas made from locally sourced ingredients that support restful sleep, strong immune systems, digestive health, allergy relief and more.

Stoneman Brewery on Stetson Brothers Road in Colrain received a $19,998 grant and raised $20,850 in matching funds to upgrade and expand the brewery. Owner Justin Korby said this included getting more equipment, such as beer kegs, a refrigerator and barrel agers, as well as facility upgrades, such as getting a shipping container that was turned into a fermentation room, complete with electricity, heating and cooling.

“Basically we were able to do some much-needed upgrades,” Korby said. “I’m one of the smallest breweries in the country, and now I’m a little bit bigger and I have room to grow. Before I was pretty limited.”

Korby said the grant allowed him to expand production, which has in turn allowed him to focus on increasing sales to restaurants and bars. As he is the brewery’s sole operator, he is limited in his ability to provide in-person sales, but getting kegs has allowed him to provide beer to The Blue Rock Restaurant and Bar and The Rendezvous.

“I’m slowly building my portfolio to sell to restaurants and bars,” Korby said. “I’m a one-man business so I have to be strategic about how I expand.”

Stoneman Brewery raised $852 more than what was required in matching funds to secure the grant. He said he is thankful for his supporters.

“We actually raised over what we needed. It was great,” Korby said.

He added that the brewery was recently awarded a U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) grant to fund the installation of solar panels. However, there was uncertainty regarding whether this funding would come through, Korby said. He received the award announcement, then later got an email that the grant was impacted by a federal funding freeze, and then was told the funds would in fact be distributed. If all goes according to plan, the panels will be installed this summer, allowing the brewery to be 100% solar-powered.

Clark Brothers Orchards on Apple Valley Road in Ashfield received a $19,926 Biz-M-Power grant and raised $20,001 through its fundraising campaign to renovate an old barn into a wheelchair-accessible repair shop.

“We do a lot of our own repairs and we didn’t have enough space for all of our equipment, so this gives us space to do more repairs and fabricate parts,” co-owner Aaron Clark said. “One of our guys has a spinal cord injury and is in a wheelchair, and is great at fixing stuff up and fabricating parts. This space is accessible to him and gives him a place to work.”

Clark said they took the lower level of an old cow barn and replaced the original stone foundations from the early 1800s. They did as much work as they could on their own and installed a new floor and walls, but did have to contract out for electrical work, insulation and some carpentry. The repair shop is nearly complete and they are getting ready to move equipment in.

He said he was pleasantly surprised by the community support for the project and is grateful to all the donors.

“We had great support, it was a little surprising,” Clark said. “We spread the word through family and friends, and it worked out for us.”

Elsewhere in Franklin County, businesses in Erving, Turners Falls and Greenfield were awarded matching grants through Biz-M-Power as well. Bridge Primary, in Greenfield, raised $20,000 last year to match its $20,000 grant, allowing the health care provider to move to a roughly 16,400-square-foot office and hire more doctors amid a primary care physician shortage.

“It was pretty amazing, the support we got from the community,” said Dr. Dean Singer, one of three partners at the practice. “It was pretty seamless in terms of community support.”

Flis Market on Route 2 in Erving had a fundraiser to match its $$9,594 grant to buy a double-door commercial convection oven as well as update some of the building’s electrical wiring to support it.

Swanson’s Fabrics on Avenue A in Turners Falls was able to match its $10,157 grant with fundraising, making for a total of $21,000, according to Swanson’s Education Director Elisa Cousins. The money went toward purchasing a dumpster and a quilting machine, and making improvements to storage and ventilation at The Stash House, a membership-based fabric classroom and work studio.

Thanks to the Biz-M-Power grant and the community fundraising, Cousins said Swanson’s Fabrics has been able to expand its class offerings inside The Stash House.

“Grants have allowed us to get things we’d never dream of,” Cousins said about the Biz-M-Power grant, as well as a Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection grant that helped spearhead its mobile mending workshop that teaches people how to repair their clothes and other items. “We’re really excited to be out offering these things.”

Reach Madison Schofield at 413-930-4579 or mschofield@recorder.com. Anthony Cammalleri and Erin-Leigh Hoffman contributed to this report.