BID LAUNCHES NEW GRANT GIVING INITIATIVE FOR AMHERST’S SMALL BUSINESSES
THE RELIEF AND RESILIENCY MICROGRANT PROGRAM
Source: Amherst Business Improvement District
The Amherst Business Improvement District announces the launch of the Relief and Resiliency Microgrant Program to provide financial relief to Amherst-wide small businesses affected by COVID-19 closures, through their newly formed Downtown Amherst Foundation (DAF). The foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and was formed as a means to develop downtown Amherst cultural projects, such as the permanent outdoor performance space, but has shifted its focus to support Amherst economic stability in this difficult time. Today, the Downtown Amherst Foundation expands its focus to all of Amherst with the launch of The Relief and Resiliency Microgrant Program, which will be executed and managed in partnership with the Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce. The goal is to raise $500K. The Downtown Amherst Foundation hopes to have funds in place and be open for applications on May 1st with an initial deadline of May 10th. Subsequent deadlines will be announced. Individual donations are needed and will be tax deductable. Checks can be sent to the Downtown Amherst Foundation 35 S Pleasant St, Amherst MA 01002 and payments can be made online at www.downtownamherstfoundation.org
The negative economic impact of COVID-19 is unprecedented. In Downtown Amherst alone, over 70 percent of surveyed businesses said they could not survive a shutdown through May. The Downtown Amherst Foundation’s program intends to offer microgrants to small, local businesses and individual contractors to meet their short-term financial needs. The grant can cover employee wages and benefits (including benefits associated with employment such as health insurance), accounts payable, fixed costs, inventory, rent, and utilities. The grants are available for Amherst-based small businesses, independent contractors, and self-employed individuals who operate brick-and-mortar businesses.
This new project addresses the challenges and shortfalls of the federal stimulus package as a way to manage continual fiscal costs to help Amherst businesses weather the uncertainties of the pandemic and put them on sound footing. Amherst’s economy is uniquely aligned with higher education and the shutdown and closures of the colleges and the University hit the town earlier than other communities in the state.
The Grant Review Committee is: Dr. Irvin Rhodes, Organizational Development Consultant; Ellen Brout Lindsay, Non-Profit Consultant; Tony Maroulis, Executive Director of External Relations & University Events, UMass; Ralph Tate, Investment Management Specialist and Treasurer of the Kestrel Land Trust; and Glenn Barrett, CEO of Ortholite. These community members are united in their love of Amherst and have no conflicts of interest as business owners or landlords. The initial push will be fundraising through Patronicity – an organization that partners with state agencies, foundations, private corporations, and granting organizations to offer pools of funding, often in the form of grants, to the organization’s constituent communities.