The West Valley Mavericks Foundation, a Litchfield Park-based nonprofit, has awarded $7,500 to the Better Business Bureau for Arizonans to use in their Main St. Accelerator program.

The grant is designed to cover registration fees and provide scholarships for enrollment in the  program.

Main St. Accelerator is an eight-week small business program that partners entrepreneurs with industry leaders for mentorship, support and peer networking.

Students learn web design, SEO, branding, marketing, sales and best practices.

“The West Valley Mavericks Foundation’s mission is to advance our four C’s, which are charity, community, culture and commerce in the West Valley,” said Cody Conklin, president-elect of the West Valley Mavericks Foundation. “We saw a good opportunity to partner with BBB to support commerce and knew they had specific programs designed to support small businesses in their infancy by providing resources and courses to support them in becoming a long-term sustainable business.”

The West Valley Mavericks Foundation aims to develop and support programs that improve the quality and future of their communities. The foundation believes everyday entrepreneurs are the backbone of the economy and this grant will give underserved and vulnerable businesses access to this accelerator program.

“Our BBB is so grateful and excited to partner with the West Valley Mavericks to serve more everyday entrepreneurs from the West Valley, one of the fastest growing regions in our state,” said Kimberly Roland, BBB Pacific Southwest vice president of innovation and entrepreneur programs.

Since its founding in 2020, the program has graduated more than 200 Arizona and Southern California businesses. Many community partners and companies like Go Daddy, Desert Financial Credit Union, Snell and Wilmer, Life Guides and Kiva support the program's success.

Applications for the Main St. Accelerator program can be submitted at bbbempower.com and the next cohort will start in Aug. 2023.