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Grant opportunities:
Amber Grant
Awards a $4,000 grant to one qualifying woman business owner each month of the year. One of the monthly qualification grant winners will be awarded an additional $25,000 by the end of the year.
- Deadline – May 31st
- More info - https://ambergrantsforwomen.com/get-an-amber-grant/
- Application - https://ambergrantsforwomen.com/get-an-amber-grant/apply-now/
Kuvio Creative
Kuvio Creative is a full-service web design and development company that provides grant recipients up to 100 hours of free services, such as web design and marketing. This program is reserved for nonprofits, women-owned companies, minority-owned businesses, and veteran-owned organizations.
- Deadline - June 15, 2020.
- Win 80 hours of services and a 3 hour per month retainer for upkeep for 1 year after the project is complete.
- More info - https://www.kuv.io/Grant
- Application - https://www.kuv.io/Grant#grant--app
The Fundera Zach Grant Contest
Fundera is a financial resources company for small businesses. Zach, the founder of the successful restaurant chain Fusian, and cofounder of Fundera, uses this grant contest as a way to seed fund small businesses.
- Deadline – January 1, 2021
- Grant amount - $2,500
- More info - https://www.fundera.com/resources/zach-grant
COVID 19 MarketersMedia Press Release... [soco365.sharepoint.com]
Gary, Tonya M.
New 5/15/2020 9:23 AM
Title COVID 19 MarketersMedia Press Release Grant
Synopsis A press release newswire, MarketersMEDIA has pledged a $1.5 million coronavirus grant in press release credits to small businesses. If you are an small business affected by the pandemic, you are entitled to a FREE First Tier Press Release credit (worth $339) that will help you deliver your message across 500 media outlets.
Fiscal Year 2020
Focus Area Connectivity; Economic Development; Entrepreneurship
Website Link COVID 19 MarketersMedia Press Release Grant [marketersmedia.com]
Keywords COVID 19, Small Business, Marketing
Priority (4) Undecided
COVID 19 The Bridge Ahead Initiative... [soco365.sharepoint.com]Gary, Tonya M.
New 5/15/2020 9:27 AM
Title COVID 19 The Bridge Ahead Initiative for Museums
Synopsis Art Bridges is committing $5 million to help partner museums remain in touch with their audiences during this period and to prepare for reopening in the months ahead.
Fiscal Year 2018
Focus Area Economic Development
Stipulations Mobile Museum of Art & Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts
Website Link COVID 19 The Bridge Ahead Initiative for Museums [artbridgesfoundation.org]
Keywords COVID 19, Museums, Humanities
Priority (4) Undecided
UAB Student Gov Association COVID-19... [soco365.sharepoint.com]Gary, Tonya M.
New 5/15/2020 9:34 AM
Title UAB Student Gov Association COVID-19 Emergency Grant
Synopsis Currently enrolled students, including undergraduate, graduate and professional, who need emergency aid due to unexpected expenses caused by the ongoing COVID-19 situation are eligible.
Award Ceiling 500.00
Fiscal Year 2020
Stipulations The submission must also include documentation supporting the need for emergency aid, such as a bill, letter of delinquency, invoice or bank statement.
Website Link UAB Student Gov Association COVID-19 Emergency Grant [padlock.idm.uab.edu]
Keywords COVID-19, Students
Priority (4) Undecided
COVID-19 Institute of Museum and... [soco365.sharepoint.com]Gary, Tonya M.
New 5/15/2020 9:43 AM
Title COVID-19 Institute of Museum and Library Services CARES Act
Synopsis This $15 million is to enable libraries, museums, and organizations serving tribal communities to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus, including by expanding digital network access, purchasing Internet accessible devices, and providing technical support services to their communities.
Award Ceiling 500,000.00
Current Closing Date 6/12/2020
Fiscal Year 2020
Focus Area Economic Development; Other
Required Match No
Stipulations Projects may focus on preserving jobs, training staff, addressing the digital divide, planning for reopening, or providing technical support and capacity building for digital inclusion and engagement.
Website Link COVID-19 Institute of Museum and Library Services CARES Act [imls.gov]
Keywords COVID-19, Museums, Humanities
Priority (4) Undecided
COVID-19 IMLS CARES Act Grants for... [soco365.sharepoint.com]Gary, Tonya M.
New 5/15/2020 9:56 AM
Title COVID-19 IMLS CARES Act Grants for Native American Native Hawaiian Museum and Library Services
Synopsis Applications focused on digital inclusion, technical support, rehiring or retraining staff, reopening planning, and other pandemic-related priorities are welcomed.
Award Ceiling 150,000.00
Current Closing Date 6/12/2020
Fiscal Year 2020
Focus Area Economic Development; Other
Website Link COVID-19 IMLS CARES Act Grants for Native American/Native Hawaiian Museum and Library Services [imls.gov]
Keywords COVID-19, Museums, Humanities
Priority (4) Undecided
COVID-19 AL Humanities Foundation... [soco365.sharepoint.com]Gary, Tonya M.
New 5/15/2020 10:44 AM
Title COVID-19 AL Humanities Foundation Grant
Synopsis AHF awards grants to nonprofit community organizations to support a wide range of public humanities projects. Applicants are encouraged to develop imaginative proposals for a variety of audiences.
Current Closing Date 6/15/2020
Fiscal Year 2020
Focus Area Economic Development; Other
Required Match Yes
Stipulations Projects often include lectures, workshops, exhibitions, festivals, digital media, and documentary films.
Website Link COVID-19 AL Humanities Foundation Grant [alabamahumanities.org]
Keywords COVID-19, Arts, Humanities
Priority (4) Undecided
The Workers Lab COVID 19 Rapid Response... [soco365.sharepoint.com]Gary, Tonya M.
New 5/15/2020 5:25 PM
Title The Workers Lab COVID 19 Rapid Response Fund
Synopsis This fund will assist gig and low-earning contract workers without access to employer-based benefits.
Fiscal Year 2020
Focus Area Economic Development; Workforce Development
Stipulations Uses the Steady App and Canary to distribute payments.
https://steadyapp.com/
https://www.workwithcanary.com/Website Link The Workers Lab COVID 19 Rapid Response Fund [theworkerslab.com]
Keywords COVID-19, Contract Worker, Worker
Priority (4) Undecided
Southern Black Girls and Women's... [soco365.sharepoint.com]Gary, Tonya M.
New 5/15/2020 5:30 PM
Title Southern Black Girls and Women's Consortium - COVID-19 Grants
Synopsis The SBGWC COVID-19 fund will rapidly deploy resources to organizations that support Black girls and women in the South that may be experiencing financial crisis or uncertainty due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Fiscal Year 2020
Focus Area Economic Development; Education; Workforce Development
Stipulations • Priority is given to organizations that are leading response activities in their local communities
• Priority will be given to organizations that have budgets under $250,000Website Link Southern Black Girls and Women's Consortiu - COVID-19 Grants [sites.google.com]
Keywords COVID 19, Women
Priority (4) Undecided
The Photographer Fund
By Format, a portfolio service for photographers, this fund aims to assist self-employed photographers with up to $500 per person.
Freelancers Relief Fund
Created to aid independent workers with food/food supplies, utilities, and cash assistance
- Up to $1000 distributed directly to freelancers in need.
- https://www.freelancersunion.org/resources/freelancers-relief-fund/
Professional Beauty Association (PBA) COVID-19 Relief Fund
The PBA and PBA Charities have created the COVID-19 Relief Fund to provide $500 to licensed beauty professionals who are unable to work due to COVID-19.
Beauty Changes Lives Relief Grants
For beauty professionals or students of Beauty programs
- $1000 funded by the Horst Rechelbacher Foundation
- https://beautychangeslives.org/horst-rechelbacher-foundation-covid-19-relief-grant/
For nail professionals
- $1000 funded by CND Creative Nail Design
- https://beautychangeslives.org/cnd-creative-nail-design-covid-19-relief-grant/
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Governor: Be Ready, Contact Financial Advisers Now
In a letter this morning to all small businesses in the state, Gov. Kay Ivey urges "you to act today and get prepared to apply for assistance that is designed to help small businesses. Being prepared is the best way – the only way – to give you the opportunity to get in front of the line when relief checks are written."Read Governor's Letter to YOU
Share this letter with other small businesses in your community!The governor also shared the same information about the federal forgivable loans (Paycheck Protection Program) that we emailed you last night.
Forgivable Loan Information for Borrowers
We are sharing the link again in case you missed it last night.
Webinars on Forgivable Loans +More Today Through Friday
Last night, Alabama Retail Association shared links with you for three webinars being presented this week by the Alabama Small Business Development Center Network. The webinars will cover the updated process for applying for the SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loan, the $10,000 forgivable advance AND the new Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), linked above.
Each webinar is limited to the first 1,000 participants. Here are the links again if you have not registered already.
• 4 p.m. today, Wednesday, April 1st
• 4 p.m. Thursday, April 2nd
• 4 p.m. Friday, April 3rd
The Alabama SBDC Network may ask for information about your business to access these webinars. While the network is not the Small Business Administration, it is the group that shares information from SBA directly with businesses in their communities. They have sent the links to these webinars to many business associations in Alabama. If you want to learn more, register at one of the links above.
on Alabama Retail Association website
(Updated regularly as information becomes available)
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State: What Will It Take For Small Business to Reopen?
Chamber friends,
Alabama Retail Association President Rick Brown and the COVID-19 Emergency Small Business Task Force Subcommittee will recommend measures necessary to reopen small businesses under the state's stay-at-home order by the end of this week.
The Alabama Retail Association has been getting a strong and clear message from its members that they want their doors open sooner, rather than later.
Please ask your small member businesses (except those classified as essential and open to the public) to answer the survey below now so we can tell state officials what health precautions those businesses can take and how quickly they can put them into place:Share Survey Now
Ask them to answer by 3 p.m. Wednesday, April 15, if they can.
Survey will remain open past that time and date.
Grocery, restaurant, pharmacy, hardware and
home improvement stores should NOT respond to this survey.What ARA Has Been Doing on Behalf of Small Retail Stores
Besides answering member calls and emails and talking to policymakers, the Alabama Retail Association has been advocating on the behalf of small business on our social media channels:- ARA president says open small retail stores with occupancy and social distancing restrictions like big boxes
- Share or comment on the article above via our Facebook post
- 'Figure out what makes sense and do that,' ARA board member says
Our Facebook and Twitter is linked below. Our Instagram handle is Shop Alabama. Follow us for the latest on COVID-19.
Current Order and FAQs and Other Resources
Read Health Department's FAQs for Business
Read the entire document for references
to your particular category of businessRead Full Stay-at-Home Order
The FAQs reference specific sections of this order,
which defines many different types
of businesses and services as essential
ICYMI: Face Covering Guidance
Read the entire document for references
to your particular category of business
COVID-19 resource page
on Alabama Retail Association website
(Updated regularly as information becomes available)
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Eagle on Lay Lake - photo by Steve Smith -
.jpg "Fun on Lay Lake! photo by Renee Hall")
Fun on Lay Lake! photo by Renee Hall -
Photo by Renee Hall -
Photo by Renee Hall
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