The Acceleration Project, with Citi Foundation Support, Expands EDGE, the Financial Coaching Program for Small Businesses, Into 2027

The Acceleration Project (TAP), a nonprofit that empowers under-resourced small business owners through high-impact consulting and mentorship, announced today the expansion of its successful Economic Development & Growth for Entrepreneurs (EDGE) Program in New York City and Westchester County for another year with the support of the Citi Foundation. In the first year of the program, 280 small businesses strengthened their personal and business financial health, with 60 receiving monetary awards. With this initial success underway and the first class of small business owners in the program graduating today, TAP has opened up interest form submissions for low- to moderate-income small business owners to participate in year 2 of EDGE. This form will close on December 22nd at 5pm ET, after which application forms will be sent to the interested small business owners in early January 2027. The program will kick off in February.

TAP’s EDGE program offers no-cost coaching, small-group sessions, and one-on-one guidance, allowing small business owners to receive hands-on support to get an edge on their finances. EDGE is built around the Financial Health Network’s FinHealth Score® framework, focusing on spending, saving, borrowing, and planning to help entrepreneurs build stronger financial habits, improve long-term stability, and grow their businesses with confidence. The Citi Foundation is continuing to support TAP’s EDGE program through the 2026 Community Finance Initiative.

“Year one of EDGE shows what hands-on coaching can do. Our accomplished consultants shared their expertise, and small business owners put it to work,” said Jane Veron, CEO and Co-founder of TAP. “We’ve seen 78% of participants increase savings, 59% reduce debt, and 13% secure a business loan. Structured guidance gives owners the confidence to make stronger financial decisions. We’re thrilled to expand EDGE in NYC and Westchester County for another year and welcome more small businesses to the TAP Community.”

“Small businesses are powerful drivers of economic opportunity and community growth. Through our Community Finance Initiative and support of TAP, we are excited to help entrepreneurs build the financial knowledge, confidence, and resilience needed to strengthen their businesses and pursue long-term success. We look forward to seeing even more business owners benefit from this program in the year ahead,” said Charlotte Gauthier, Senior Program Officer at the Citi Foundation.

At the close of year 2 of the EDGE program, highly engaged participants will have an opportunity to receive monetary awards from a $10,000 prize pool to invest in their businesses and help advance their goals. To qualify, participants must complete all four EDGE modules and show measurable progress in improving financial health behaviors through program milestones. Eligible participants will also submit an EDGE Finalist Impact Story, sharing their journey through the program in written, audio, or video format. Award recipients will be selected based on program participation, milestone progress, consultant feedback, and the strength of their submission.

“Before EDGE, I ran my business on instinct, but the program helped me build a business plan, financial projection, and value-based pricing approach that earned a $10,000 SBA microloan through Accompany Capital in May 2026. This enabled me to turn my side hustle into a formally structured LLC,” said Price Johnson, Founder of Strong Hour Personal Training in Brooklyn, New York, and a participant in the EDGE program.

Westchester and NYC small business owners interested in applying to the EDGE Program can fill out an interest form here: https://forms.gle/ASd778JLnFKdrgNXA. Organizations interested in partnering with TAP on the EDGE Program can reach out here: https://forms.gle/2nW1a2ZJxcxjEVjb7.

Additional coaching and educational resources can be found at https://www.theaccelerationproject.org.

About The Acceleration Project
The Acceleration Project (TAP) is a nonprofit organization that empowers under-resourced small business owners through high-impact consulting and mentorship. TAP supports small businesses nationwide across a wide range of industries with tailored guidance spanning AI, finance, operations, marketing, and strategy, delivered at no cost to the small business owner. TAP has supported more than 13,100+ businesses nationwide, helping small business owners achieve sustainable success, strengthen their communities, and expand economic mobility.