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.
The Delta Variant and the Small Business Community
The small business community was increasingly optimistic this summer. The pandemic was waning, restrictions disappeared and customers were coming back in droves. Vaccinated individuals gathered without masks. While many businesses struggled to find qualified employees, their prospects for recovery looked good. Then the Delta variant came and COVID cases started to significantly increase. That optimism…
The Back to Business Grant Program
Supporting Struggling Small Businesses The pandemic and Covid-19 mitigations began inflicting immense damage to many small businesses in March of 2020. Thousands of small businesses initially applied for Illinois Business Interruption Grants. While these grants helped some small businesses, approximately 80% of eligible small businesses which applied were not awarded a grant. Subsequently, Illinois received…
SBAC Advocacy Newsletter 8.13.21
Dear Small Business Advocates, We understand that the Delta variant is causing increasing concern and uncertainty for the small business community. Rest assured, we will continue fighting for policies that proactively address the challenges presented by the resurgence of the pandemic. Click on the link below to read more on our work on: Back to…
