Heather Bell
RADFORD – Small businesses throughout the country are struggling to stay open though the COVID-19 pandemic.
A new grant program recently started by the City of Radford could offer a bit of assistance to help keep them afloat.
“The City of Radford has announced a new grant program to help our local small businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and eligible small businesses may apply for grants from this program,” the city recently announced. “The POWER Grant Initiative (Pressing Onward With Economic Resiliency), is a grant for our local small businesses with 50 or fewer employees, and will provide immediate, direct relief from the City to our local small businesses struggling due to the economic shutdown or modification of their traditional service methods.”
Funding support is driven by for the program comes from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, commonly referred to as the “CARES Act.”
Radford City Manager David Ridpath said CARES Act funding is helping the city in several different ways and the new small business grant program is one way to help the city’s vulnerable businesses during this unprecedented time.
“The $150 billion in the federal CARES Act funding package provided to the localities across the country helps our communities with the unexpected cost of COVID related expenses associated with PPE needs, public safety, service alternatives, and technology improvements,” said Ridpath. “The POWER Grant Initiative gives us the ability to extend direct funding assistance from the City to our local businesses as a show of our continued support.”
Radford Mayor David Horton said city leaders know small businesses are a key part of the economic engine of the city and they are struggling right now.
“We are pleased to be able to make the POWER grant program available to Radford businesses,”said Horton. “Small business is essential to the success of our community and our local entrepreneurs have done a great job under difficult conditions as they have managed so far during this pandemic. We are all in this together and we will try to find anything we can do to help them survive and thrive.”
Radford City Council has allocated $200,000 for the program, which will be administered by the Office of Economic Development and the Radford Economic Development Authority.
Grant allocations will range from $1,000 – $5,000 per business, based on “reimbursements of eligible expenses related to the continuity of business during the COVID-19 pandemic,” and will be awarded on a first-come, first-serve basis.
“The POWER Grant Initiative is an opportunity for us to give back to our local small businesses and come together as a community to support them during these unprecedented times,” said Radford Economic Development Director Kim Repass. “We will get through this together.”
