More services for start-up businesses will become available in Champaign-Urbana and Rantoul, as a result of a $683,125 federal grant announced this week.

The five-year grant will enable founders of small businesses to take courses, get advice from experienced entrepreneurs and work alongside other small firms at both EnterpriseWorks in Champaign and the Rantoul Business Center.

The money — awarded by the Economic Development Administration, a division of the U.S. Department of Commerce — comes in response to an application submitted by area organizations.

Collaborating on the project are EnterpriseWorks and the University of Illinois College of Business, working in cooperation with Parkland College, the Rantoul Business Center, the Champaign County Economic Development Corp.'s Small Business Development Center and the Champaign County Regional Planning Commission.

Specifically, the proposal calls for:

— Creating a community incubator in Rantoul that draws on the resources of EnterpriseWorks.

— Making Small Business Development Center counseling available at the Rantoul Business Center one day a week.

— Offering "FastTrac" entrepreneurial courses at the Rantoul Business Center and at EnterpriseWorks.

— Building a student internship program that provides professional and technical services to entrepreneurs.

Laura Bleill, marketing coordinator at EnterpriseWorks, said the grant will allow EnterpriseWorks to offer its services to a broader audience of entrepreneurs — not just the high-tech companies that have offices there.

The grant will make community incubator space available at EnterpriseWorks, as well as at the Rantoul Business Center, she said.

Small businesses at both places will be able to take advantage of the "entrepreneur-in-residence" program at EnterpriseWorks, she added.

EnterpriseWorks already has four part-time entrepreneurs-in-residence to work with start-ups, and the grant could allow recruitment of an additional consultant to help firms apply for Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer grants, Bleill said.

As part of the project, the Champaign County Economic Development Corp. would provide Small Business Development Center counseling in Rantoul on a weekly basis, she added.

The grant will also help pay for "FastTrac" business development workshops in Champaign and Rantoul. Curriculum for FastTrac programs was developed by the Kansas City, Mo.-based Kauffman Foundation.

It's expected the course in Rantoul would be taught by Parkland College instructors, Bleill said.

Bleill said Parkland plans to use its entrepreneurial scholarship program to support students who want to take FastTrac training in Rantoul.

The grant would also enable the UI to expand its student entrepreneur shared-services program, in which students provide services for companies in the UI Research Park.

Typical services include website development, logo development, market research, data analysis and social media development, for companies, Bleill said.

Parkland students would also take part in the shared-services program, as part of the project.

The grant would also open up the Academy for Entrepreneurial Leadership's "Illinois Launch" mentoring program to a wider audience.

Two places in the Illinois Launch program would be reserved for community ventures each year, according to the grant application.

As part of the project, the UI College of Business plans to do an assessment of entrepreneurship in the region, with the Champaign County Regional Planning Commission helping with data analysis.