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May 7, 2020Center for Economic Growth Announces $150K COVID-19 Small Business Stabilization Fund
National Small Business Month kicks off with the launch of a $150,000 small business stabilization fund provided by the KeyBank Business Boost & Build Program powered by JumpStart.
Administered by the Center for Economic Growth, the Capital Region Urban Core MWBE Emergency Relief Fund will support MWBE small business in the Capital Region’s urban cities of Albany, Rensselaer, Schenectady and Troy. This contribution is part of a plan to deploy $500K in relief funds to small business communities throughout the state of New York in response to the economic hardship caused by the COVID-19 outbreak.
“The spread of COVID-19 is impacting all of us in all of our communities,” said Ruth Mahoney, president, Capital Region, KeyBank. “Collaborative efforts, including this one involving KeyBank and JumpStart, will help our communities and the thousands of people who rely on our region’s urban-based small businesses for jobs, products and services in good times and bad.”
Many small business owners are finding themselves ineligible or ill positioned to receive federal relief funding. This fund is intended to fill those gaps while also providing wraparound services in the form of technical assistance and one-on-one business consultation. These resources will be provided by the KeyBank Business Boost & Build Collaborative partners, which include Center for Economic Growth (CEG), Univ. of Albany’s SEED program and Pursuit Lending (formerly Excelsior Growth Fund). CEG’s Senior Vice President Michael Lobsinger commented, “CEG and our partners understand the importance to continue support of our urban centers during these difficult times and we’ve all been diligently working hard remotely to support our communities with updated information and resources. When KeyBank Foundation and Jumpstart approached us about facilitating this grant locally, there was no question, certainly.”
Eligible minority and women owned businesses in the Health and Wellness, Service, Hospitality, and Lifestyle industries can receive grants of up to $5,000 per business, while funds last, and ideally prioritized for those who could not get or were not eligible for emergency relief funding through the SBA.
Eligible businesses can apply at https://go.ceg.org/CRUrbanCore/
