Groups get money from development board

Six nonprofit organizations were awarded money from a voluntary fee some Franklin businesses pay.

Aspire Johnson County, Franklin Heritage Foundation, the Franklin Chamber of Commerce, Discover Downtown Franklin, Study Connection and the Franklin Development Corp. all received about $3,900 from the Franklin Economic Development Commission.

Each year, the fees are collected voluntarily from certain businesses that receive tax breaks and the money is passed out to local nonprofit organizations that apply for it, Franklin community development specialist Rhoni Oliver said.

This year, more nonprofit organizations than ever applied for the money, Oliver said. Approximately $23,400 was collected from businesses.

Aspire Johnson County decided to turn down its share of the money because it wasn’t enough to do the project they had applied for, so an additional $780 went to the other five nonprofit organizations, Oliver said.