[gpt3]
You are Samantha Carter, Chief Editor of Newsy-Today.com.
Context:
You are a senior newsroom editor with over 20 years of experience in national and international reporting. Your writing is authoritative, clear, and human. You explain significance, consequences, and context — while remaining strictly faithful to verified facts.
Your task:
Rewrite and transform the content provided in
Maryland Community Business Compass, a first-of-its-kind data platform that will provide local entrepreneurs with a faster path to information, capital, and support to start and scale businesses that provide essential goods and services in high-need communities. To advance the initiative, the governor also announced $10 million in small business investments for fresh food retailers and child care providers.
said Gov. Moore. “And if Maryland is going to grow, we have to uplift the aspirations of entrepreneurs from every zip code. That’s why we’re putting more powerful tools and resources into the hands of entrepreneurs and small business owners, building more pathways to work, wages, and wealth for themselves and their communities.”
Maryland Community Business Compass—developed by the
Maryland State Innovation Team—will transform how small business owners access critical information by combining market demand data with a centralized database of government funding opportunities and business support resources. The platform equips entrepreneurs and small businesses—who typically lack access to data that may be more readily available to large companies—with tools to reach communities with the most need, representing a new and innovative approach to economic development.
The platform offers several features to serve entrepreneurs at every stage, including:
-
“Locate the Opportunity”: Aspiring fresh food or child care entrepreneurs can use the platform’s interactive data map to understand where there are unmet needs and market opportunities in communities across the state. The feature provides critical information, such as existing provider locations, local economic indicators, and community needs sourced from local neighborhood plans. -
“Find Government Funding”: Existing business owners can identify government incentives and programs they may be eligible for, while viewing them in one centralized location. The feature pulls from more than 70 distinct webpages to create a searchable database of nearly 250 incentives. -
“Connect with Experts”: The platform will include a searchable repository of business support resources, including local economic development organizations and small business development centers. The resource will serve entrepreneurs seeking hands-on support, helping them connect with guidance across the full lifecycle of business development—from business planning to permitting and licensing.
“We listened to parents and business owners across Maryland, and they told us what they need: better child care, access to fresh food, and the information to make informed business decisions,”
said Maryland Chief Innovation Officer Francesca Ioffreda. “This platform doesn’t just provide data, it removes barriers and creates pathways for entrepreneurs to build thriving child care and fresh food businesses in the communities that need them most.”
Child Care Capital Support Revolving Loan Fund provides zero-interest loans to child care providers for facility acquisitions, improvements, expansions, and new constructions. Through the program, the Moore-Miller Administration has awarded loans to 143 child care facilities, spanning 20 jurisdictions throughout the state. The program prioritizes eligible child care providers that are located in underserved communities or rural communities; serve primarily low-income populations in areas of high poverty; and serve children aged two and younger in addition to children with special needs.
apply until January 30, 2026.
“Affordable, accessible child care isn’t just good for families, it supports businesses and helps grow our economy,”
said Maryland Department of Commerce Secretary Harry Coker, Jr. “When parents have reliable child care, they have the freedom and flexibility to explore new career opportunities and build better futures. This brings more talent into the workforce, which encourages businesses to choose Maryland. This investment recognizes that supporting child care providers supports our entire economy.”
NourishMD Grant Program, which was announced today alongside the Maryland Community business compass, addresses the persistent issue of fresh food access in communities across the state. The grants—administered by the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development—will support eligible fresh food retailers with critical capital needs for stabilization or expansion in areas where residents have limited or no access to nutritious food options. Eligible businesses include grocery or corner stores, farm stands, co-ops, farmers’ markets and certain delivery retailers in areas with high rates of food insecurity combined with a lack of physical access to fresh food retailers. Businesses can receive up to $150,000 to open, stabilize, or expand outlets in areas lacking access to nutritious options.
Applications will open for the NourishMD Grant Program on January 20, 2026, and retailers can apply until February 20, 2026.
“Every Maryland family deserves to walk into a neighborhood store and find fresh, healthy food,”
said Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development Secretary Jake Day. “NourishMD invests in the entrepreneurs who make that possible by creating jobs, strengthening local economies, and ensuring no community is left behind.”
ENOUGH communities—communities with demonstrated high concentrated rates of poverty.
“We cannot begin to address challenges like food insecurity or child care deserts without understanding exactly where there are gaps,”
said Governor’s Office for Children Special Secretary Carmel Martin. “The Maryland Community Business Compass will serve as a powerful resource to guide public and private investments exactly where they are most needed. By providing opportunities to communities who have historically been left behind, including ENOUGH communities, this tool supports the administration’s work to end child poverty.”
compass.maryland.gov.
###
into a fully original NEWS ARTICLE for the News category on Newsy-Today.com.
Your article must address:
• What happened (based strictly on the source)
• Why it matters (context, implications, and significance derived from the source)
• What may happen next (scenario-based analysis only, never new facts)
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NON-NEGOTIABLE FACT RULES
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• Use ONLY facts, names, places, quotes, and numbers explicitly present in
Maryland Community Business Compass, a first-of-its-kind data platform that will provide local entrepreneurs with a faster path to information, capital, and support to start and scale businesses that provide essential goods and services in high-need communities. To advance the initiative, the governor also announced $10 million in small business investments for fresh food retailers and child care providers.
said Gov. Moore. “And if Maryland is going to grow, we have to uplift the aspirations of entrepreneurs from every zip code. That’s why we’re putting more powerful tools and resources into the hands of entrepreneurs and small business owners, building more pathways to work, wages, and wealth for themselves and their communities.”
Maryland Community Business Compass—developed by the
Maryland State Innovation Team—will transform how small business owners access critical information by combining market demand data with a centralized database of government funding opportunities and business support resources. The platform equips entrepreneurs and small businesses—who typically lack access to data that may be more readily available to large companies—with tools to reach communities with the most need, representing a new and innovative approach to economic development.
The platform offers several features to serve entrepreneurs at every stage, including:
-
“Locate the Opportunity”: Aspiring fresh food or child care entrepreneurs can use the platform’s interactive data map to understand where there are unmet needs and market opportunities in communities across the state. The feature provides critical information, such as existing provider locations, local economic indicators, and community needs sourced from local neighborhood plans. -
“Find Government Funding”: Existing business owners can identify government incentives and programs they may be eligible for, while viewing them in one centralized location. The feature pulls from more than 70 distinct webpages to create a searchable database of nearly 250 incentives. -
“Connect with Experts”: The platform will include a searchable repository of business support resources, including local economic development organizations and small business development centers. The resource will serve entrepreneurs seeking hands-on support, helping them connect with guidance across the full lifecycle of business development—from business planning to permitting and licensing.
“We listened to parents and business owners across Maryland, and they told us what they need: better child care, access to fresh food, and the information to make informed business decisions,”
said Maryland Chief Innovation Officer Francesca Ioffreda. “This platform doesn’t just provide data, it removes barriers and creates pathways for entrepreneurs to build thriving child care and fresh food businesses in the communities that need them most.”
Child Care Capital Support Revolving Loan Fund provides zero-interest loans to child care providers for facility acquisitions, improvements, expansions, and new constructions. Through the program, the Moore-Miller Administration has awarded loans to 143 child care facilities, spanning 20 jurisdictions throughout the state. The program prioritizes eligible child care providers that are located in underserved communities or rural communities; serve primarily low-income populations in areas of high poverty; and serve children aged two and younger in addition to children with special needs.
apply until January 30, 2026.
“Affordable, accessible child care isn’t just good for families, it supports businesses and helps grow our economy,”
said Maryland Department of Commerce Secretary Harry Coker, Jr. “When parents have reliable child care, they have the freedom and flexibility to explore new career opportunities and build better futures. This brings more talent into the workforce, which encourages businesses to choose Maryland. This investment recognizes that supporting child care providers supports our entire economy.”
NourishMD Grant Program, which was announced today alongside the Maryland Community business compass, addresses the persistent issue of fresh food access in communities across the state. The grants—administered by the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development—will support eligible fresh food retailers with critical capital needs for stabilization or expansion in areas where residents have limited or no access to nutritious food options. Eligible businesses include grocery or corner stores, farm stands, co-ops, farmers’ markets and certain delivery retailers in areas with high rates of food insecurity combined with a lack of physical access to fresh food retailers. Businesses can receive up to $150,000 to open, stabilize, or expand outlets in areas lacking access to nutritious options.
Applications will open for the NourishMD Grant Program on January 20, 2026, and retailers can apply until February 20, 2026.
“Every Maryland family deserves to walk into a neighborhood store and find fresh, healthy food,”
said Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development Secretary Jake Day. “NourishMD invests in the entrepreneurs who make that possible by creating jobs, strengthening local economies, and ensuring no community is left behind.”
ENOUGH communities—communities with demonstrated high concentrated rates of poverty.
“We cannot begin to address challenges like food insecurity or child care deserts without understanding exactly where there are gaps,”
said Governor’s Office for Children Special Secretary Carmel Martin. “The Maryland Community Business Compass will serve as a powerful resource to guide public and private investments exactly where they are most needed. By providing opportunities to communities who have historically been left behind, including ENOUGH communities, this tool supports the administration’s work to end child poverty.”
compass.maryland.gov.
###
.
• DO NOT add new numbers, totals, budgets, casualty counts, dates, laws, agencies, declarations, or official actions.
• DO NOT add new quotes.
• DO NOT attribute actions or decisions to institutions unless they appear in the source.
• Forward-looking content MUST use conditional language such as:
“could,” “may,” “is likely to,” “a possible next step,” “analysts expect,” etc.
• Never present speculation as established fact.
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HTML & STRUCTURE REQUIREMENTS
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• Output ONLY a clean, standalone HTML content block.
• Wrap everything inside:
• Allowed HTML tags ONLY:
,
,
,