Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin has announced a new public-private initiative aimed at strengthening flood-impacted communities by providing grants to affected small businesses.
The program, called RISE West Virginia, is being co-sponsored by West Virginia native Brad Smith, chairman and CEO of the software company Intuit. Smith and his wife, Alys, have committed a family donation of $500,000 to the program.
In addition to Smith’s personal support of RISE West Virginia, his company has committed to providing flood-impacted small businesses free products such as QuickBooks accounting, point-of-sale devices, and merchant payment services along with free training to help them get back up and running.
Gov. Tomblin said the goal is for the program to reach a minimum of $2 million from a combination of private donations and state dollars that otherwise could have been part of the Racetrack Modernization Fund. Interested donors will be asked to contact the West Virginia Development Office, and small businesses will apply through the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce, which is partnering with the state to make the program possible.
Grants of up to $10,000 will be awarded to eligible small businesses based on need and recommendations from a review committee, which may designate larger awards as special circumstances warrant.
To be considered, small businesses must be located in one of the 12 counties included in the federal disaster declaration, have had a verifiable and operational business at the time of the June 2016 flooding, and be in good standing with the state. The review committee will look at each business’s commitment to retaining or creating jobs, among other considerations.
Additional information, including a link to the application, will be available online through West Virginia’s official flood recovery website, www.wvflood.com, beginning Tuesday, July 26.
