Press Releases
26 Far Eastside Minority Businesses Receive $5,000 Small Business Recovery Grants from LISC Indianapolis
From LISC Indianapolis:
INDIANAPOLIS (Nov. 13, 2020) – With financial support from the MJ Insurance, The Clowes Fund, IndyREAL, Glick Philanthropies, Chubb, and the Chase Foundation, LISC Indianapolis launched the third round of Indianapolis Small Business Recovery Grants, this time focusing on businesses located on the Far Eastside. With the help of our partners, today we are excited to announce $5,000 grants to 26 small businesses.
LISC Indianapolis recognizes that small businesses are critical to the health of our economy and community. The impact of COVID-19 has been especially acute for minority, immigrant and women-owned businesses. In this third round of funding, LISC Indianapolis received more than 240 applications from small businesses. With the help of a review committee, twenty-one black-owned businesses and five Latinx-owned businesses located in the Far Eastside were selected to receive the $5,000 grant. All grantees have 10 or fewer employees. Approximately 69% of the grant recipients are women-owned businesses (18 of the 26 businesses) and represented a variety of types of businesses including childcare, retail, food, and personal care services.
In 2020, LISC Indianapolis has awarded $5,000 Small Business Relief Grants to 76 minority, immigrant and women-owned businesses, totaling $380,000.
Round Three Grantees:
- A Child Was Born
- Arts Skillet
- ChiIndy Creationz
- Crown of Glory Hair Salon
- Designs in a Box
- Divine Investment Partners
- Estetica Maricruz
- Family life Child Care
- Freestyle Cupcake Bar
- Happy Learning Academy
- J&M Discount Merchandise
- Jimmies Soulfood & More
- Melanin Magi
- Ms Marshas Sweets
- Nettas Bright Beginnings Child Care
- Our Amazing Angels Child Care
- Pinkys Sweet Tooth Factory
- Panaderia La Moderna
- Razor Game
- Rjs Tacos and Burritos
- Shocks Lawncare and Landscaping
- Silver Spoon Events
- Sista’s Eatery
- SweattBoxx Wellness Center
- The Taste of Ty
- Wall Street Market
“Due to a high volume of grant applications in previous grant rounds and ongoing small business momentum, we wanted to focus this particular grant round on small businesses operating in the Far Eastside,” said Tedd Grain, Executive Director of LISC Indianapolis. “The resiliency of these women-and-minority-owned enterprises is critical to our economic recovery. We must prioritize investments in our traditionally under-resourced and connected Indianapolis communities.”
At the beginning of 2020, LISC began working with organizations on the Far Eastside to create an Economic Inclusion Agenda to help identify strategies for more inclusive economic and workforce development. Through this process, we learned more about the diverse small business community and also understood that they were being especially hard hit by the pandemic. This dedicated small business recovery grant for this community is one of the early implementation items of the Economic Inclusion Agenda.
Click here for photos of each of the Round Three recipients. Click here for a list of Round 1 grantees, and here for a list of Round 2 grantees. The following organizations participated in the review committee: La Plaza, CICF, Indy Black Chamber, The Ross Foundation, Indy Chamber –Develop Indy, UNEC/ANU, and Far Eastside residents.
Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) Indianapolis is the local office of a national organization that helps resident-led, community-based development organizations transform distressed communities and neighborhoods into healthy ones — good places to live, do business, work, and raise families. By providing capital, technical expertise, training, and information, LISC supports the development of local leadership and the creation of affordable housing; commercial, industrial, and community facilities; businesses; and jobs. In short, we help neighbors build communities.
LISC Media Contact:
Megan Bulla, APR
LISC Indianapolis
317-671-5055
mbulla@lisc.org