Last week, the Metropolitan Business League (MBL) selected 117 Richmond small businesses to receive grant disbursements from the Small Business Recovery Grant Fund, which provides financial support to businesses impacted by the January water outage. 

The program is a public-private partnership administered by the MBL that is funded by $500,000 from the City of Richmond Economic Development Authority (EDA), Dominion Energy and Altria.

“We are grateful to be able to offer some measure of respite for small businesses in the City who are feeling the financial strain caused by January’s water crisis,” said Mayor Danny Avula. “Being able to distribute these funds is not just about relief, it’s about showing our small business owners that Richmond stands with them and that we are committed to this recovery, together.”

The MBL, in partnership with Bridging Virginia, a nonprofit community development loan fund, ran a multistep review process. Of the 199 applications submitted, 139 met the required eligibility criteria.

The criteria included demonstrated fiscal impact, impact statements and water dependency assessments. A panel of public and private stakeholders then reviewed and scored the applications to assess the overall economic hardship incurred as a result of the water outage.

Based on fund availability and review criteria, nearly 85% of eligible applicants will receive a $2,500 or $5,000 grant. Restaurants and food service businesses represent the majority of awardees at 61%, followed by personal service businesses (such as hair and nail salons) at 14%, with the remainder of awards spread across other industries.

Funds will be distributed to recipients later this month.