The PA 30 Day Fund Announces $100,000 for Small Businesses
The Pennsylvania 30 Day Fund announced that it will deploy at least $100,000 for diverse small businesses who have suffered loss due to property damage and looting. The nonprofit organization provides $3000 forgivable loans to small businesses owners who complete a simple application and submit a video. The Fund launched on May 7, 2020, and has already funded over 70 companies, including 36 minority-owned small businesses, impacted by COVID-19.
“Our intention was always to help small businesses in Pennsylvania survive for 30 days as they create the plans and get the support they need to continue operating,” said Jeff Brown, Board member of the PA 30 Day Fund and CEO of the ShopRite chain of Brown Superstores. “We now see small business owners who are suffering from looting and violence, and those businesses are disproportionately owned by people of color. Our Board is determined to help them survive, and we have $100,000 we plan to distribute within the next week.”
The nonprofit PA 30 Day Fund is led by Cassandra Bailey, Slice Communications’ CEO; Jeff Bartos, President of ESB Holdings; Roger Braunfeld, partner at Royer Cooper Cohen Braunfeld; Jeff Brown, CEO of the ShopRite chain of Brown’s Superstores; Maia Comeau, public affairs consultant and CEO of Comeau and Company; Thomas Nerney, CEO of United States Liability Insurance Group; Richard Phillips, former Chairman and CEO of Pilot Freight Systems; and Mustafa Rashed, CEO of the government relations and communications firm Bellevue Strategies.
Working with other business leaders throughout the Commonwealth, the Fund’s goal is to help save as many Pennsylvania jobs as possible. Pennsylvania businesses that qualify for assistance from the Fund meet these requirements:
- Small businesses that employ three to 30 people;
- Based in Pennsylvania and have been operating for at least one year;
- Owned and operated by a Pennsylvania resident;
- Operate as a for-profit business.
“Over the past few days, the civil unrest that has led to rioting and damaging of small business across PA has been another hurdle that small businesses have to overcome,” said Mustafa Rashed, Board member of the PA 30 Day Fund. “We recognize this additional challenge and want to be able to support those businesses as the majority of the state resumes business operations.”
The funds disbursed to small businesses by the PA 30 Day Fund do not need to be repaid. If businesses who receive the Fund’s assistance do, at a later date, wish to “pay it forward” to another Pennsylvania small business in need of assistance, they may do so by directing those dollars back to the Fund, which will disburse the funding to another Pennsylvania business in need.
All donations collected by the PA 30 Day Fund are given to recipient businesses without offsets, administrative fees, or any other expenses. Donations and applications can be submitted here.