Chamber Relief Grant Program
Local chambers of commerce provide important support and services to small businesses. They connect small businesses to potential customers and play a pivotal role in fostering commerce in local communities. However, many chambers have been devastated by the pandemic. For that reason, we are asking state politicians to allocate a modest sum of ARPA money to provide crucial relief to these local chambers.
The SBAC is championing legislation that will provide grants to local and regional chambers of commerce to help them recover from the pandemic. Eligible chambers will receive grants in an amount equivalent to 2 months of lost revenue, or 1/6th of their annual lost revenue, for their losses between 2019 and 2020. Chambers must also have less than 1500 paid members to be eligible. The total amount allocated for this proposed program is 5 million dollars, a small sum considering Illinois received over 8 billion in federal ARPA money.
You can read the full legislation here.
Chambers of commerce have struggled since the onset of the pandemic. This is the time for politicians to support the non-profit chambers that support small businesses and local communities throughout Illinois.
Reach out to us at 312.548.8608 or email patti@sbacil.org to learn more.
Taking Advantage of Your Membership
We want to ensure you are getting the MOST out of your membership at the SBAC. As a member-driven organization, YOU are our top priority, Want to know how to maximize your membership investment? Get involved and join us one Tuesday for our policy committee! Come join us at our Golf outing! Update your information…
Small Business Mayoral Forum Recap
The Small Business Advocacy Council and a robust number of chambers and organizations hosted a small business mayoral forum. This was a lively discussion about each candidate’s visions for supporting small businesses and neighborhood business districts. We want to thank all of the local chambers of commerce that partnered with us on this important forum.…
SBAC Women in Business: Roundtable on Small Businesses and Child Care
The SBAC Women in Business hosted a virtual roundtable with Chairman Edgar Gonzalez Jr. to discuss accessibility to affordable child care and small businesses. It was an insightful conversation and we sincerely thank Chairman Gonzalez for taking the time out of his busy schedule to join us and for championing this legislation! We look forward…
