Subsidise Local???

I only know about the engineering scene, but there are some grant and loan programs  at the state level to help NC businesses develop technologies, and to give them a competitive advantage relative to out-of-state competitors.  In particular, the North Carolina Board of Science and Technology gives grants to North Carolina companies involved in the development of cutting edge technologies. NC Idea, which is privately funded, does much the same thing.  There are undoubtedly others.  My company has benefited directly from a BST grant, and CH-C has shared in those benefits since the money was used to hire people in the area.  

As a technology developer, I don't think that in most cases $5k will go that far, but in the right circumstances it might.  As you say, Mike Dell started in his dorm room.  For guys in commercial, rather than technical fields, a micro-grant might be enough capital to make a real difference.

Another way to use a little money to get a lot of bang might be to create a competition with a cash prize.  Look what the Ansari X prize did for space travel.  A fairly meager $10 million prize resulted in the birth of an entirely new industry (let's ignore for the moment that it is a ridiculously unsustainable, air-polluting industry).  A CH-C municipal  technology competition could do lots of good for small, local companies.  The media exposure it would bring, the opportunity to meet and share ideas with people doing similar work, and of course the money for the winner, could all benefit local tech companies.  And the competition would probably draw interest from venture capital groups looking for companies in which to invest.  Finally and most importantly, depending on how the competition was structured,such a competition might even result in some really useful new technology that wouldn't have otherwise been developed.