Six economic development organizations on Wednesday partnered to form the first Louisiana Small Business Rebirth Fund — an “evergreen” fund that will provide grants to small businesses affected by disasters.
The Rebirth Fund started with the efforts of the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry in response to recent flooding. The organization launched the Louisiana Small Business Disaster Relief Fund on Monday for the second time. The first was after the 2005 hurricanes, when it provided small businesses with 200 grants, exceeding $1.7 million, according to the organization.
Other groups soon voiced interest in combining efforts to raise money for affected businesses, LABI President Stephen Waguespack said. Within just 36 hours, he said, the fund had been finalized and the announcement made.
The goal of the new fund is to get businesses up and running as soon as possible through small grants that cover a wide range of issues, including property damage and workforce displacement, Waguespack said. Federal and state funding requests often take time to process, he said, and some businesses don’t have the luxury of time.
“This could come in and provide that near-term infusion that could help be the difference between survival or not for that business,” Waguespack said. He said the fund will ensure businesses don’t leaving the state because they’re unable to get near-term grants.
To be eligible, businesses must be in one of the 20 parishes declared federal disaster areas, employ 50 or fewer people, and have been in business on Aug. 10, 2016.
LABI and its partner organizations are collecting donations to go toward these “triage” — or near-term — grants.
For information on donating, visit www.LaBizRebirth.org. Businesses can sign up to receive a notification when the application goes up.
Waguespack said all donations will go toward grant money and that no funds will be used for administrative care. All donations are tax deductible.
He said that having all relief funds under one roof will make applying easier and distributing funds faster. He said grants are expected to range from $1,000 to $10,000.
“I think that way it’ll be more clear to the impacted businesses, and more clear to the donors how to make the most impact,” Waguespack said. “We won’t have folks tripping over each other.”
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