BATON ROUGE – Applications are now being accepted by the Louisiana Small Business Rebirth Fund, which was created to award triage grants to support the thousands of small businesses impacted by the historic flooding in south Louisiana in August 2016. Awards range between $1,000 and $10,000 depending on the damages, purpose and available funding.
To be eligible to apply for a Rebirth award, the applicant must:
• Be a small businesses registered with the Louisiana Secretary of State with 50 employees or less;
• Have been operational on August 10, 2016; and
• Be located in one of the 20 parishes declared in the official federal disaster declaration – Acadia, Ascension, Avoyelles, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Evangeline, Iberia, Iberville, Jefferson Davis, Lafayette, Livingston, Pointe Coupee, St. Helena, St. Landry, St. Martin, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Vermilion, Washington and West Feliciana.
Applications submitted by Friday, September 2, 2016, will be reviewed by the independent panel for a first round of awards from the Fund. Applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis, as partner organizations anticipate conducting a second round of grant reviews and awards after Labor Day.
Applications can be submitted via the online form here.
Alternatively, forms may be downloaded from the site and submitted by email or fax to Elena Lacour at (225) 929-6054 or elenal@labi.org.
An independent review team of technical experts will consider each application in an impartial process, judging each request on the merits and prioritizing funds to help small business re-open their doors and staff their operations.
The Louisiana Small Business Rebirth Fund was created in August 2016, representing a partnership with the Baton Rouge Area Chamber (BRAC), Greater New Orleans, Inc. (GNO, Inc.), the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry (LABI), the Louisiana Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives (LACCE), the Louisiana chapter of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), and One Acadiana.
Contribute to the Louisiana Small Business Rebirth Fund here.
Apply for Louisiana Small Business Rebirth Fund grants here.
Donate to the Louisiana Small Business Rebirth Fund here.
LABI members can complete a short survey detailing the impact of the disaster on their businesses here.
