By Megan Sayles
AFRO Business Writer
msayles@afro.com
As Maryland businesses continue to recover from the March collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, the Greater Baltimore Committee (GBC) and the Baltimore Community Foundation have announced a new grant program to provide assistance.
The Maryland Tough Baltimore Strong Key Bridge Small Business Grants are deploying $5 million to nonprofit organizations supporting small businesses and communities impacted by the loss of the bridge. Interest letters are being accepted on a rolling basis.
“The investment we’re making now is for businesses where the absence of the Key Bridge has either restricted their access to communities or made it more complicated for them to do business with people who would normally frequent those communities,” Mark Anthony Thomas, CEO and president of GBC, told the AFRO. “We’ve put a call out for organizations that actually serve small businesses to send us their best ideas to help impacted businesses.”
Prior to its collapse, the Key Bridge functioned as a critical connector for regional and national economic activity, particularly for industries linked to the Port of Baltimore. Although the port is now operating at full capacity, the effects of the commerce and transit interruption still linger. The impact has been especially significant for small businesses in Anne Arundel County, Baltimore County and Baltimore City communities.
The Maryland Tough Baltimore Strong Key Bridge Small Business Grants are designed to help these enterprises build long-term resilience and to strengthen the local economy. To be considered, nonprofit organizations must have a current or planned footprint in affected communities. Acceptable uses for the funds include providing technical assistance, expanding existing small business grant programs and investing in business districts.
“There will be many years where we will not have a bridge. Businesses and commercial corridors have to adapt to the impact of that,” said Thomas. “This program eases that transition, and in some ways, it’s an opportunity to make the community stronger.”
In partnership with BCF, GBC, the Maryland Chamber of Commerce, World Trade Center Institute, Anne Arundel Development Corporation and Baltimore County Department of Economic and Workforce Development will review grant applications.
This program builds on BCF’s cash assistance program for Baltimore port workers, which provided one-time payments of $1,000. The foundation manages the Maryland Tough Baltimore Strong Key Bridge Fund, which is still accepting donations.
“In the immediate aftermath of the Key Bridge collapse, the Baltimore Community Foundation focused on providing much needed funds to support port workers and their families,” said Shanaysha M. Sauls, president and CEO of BCF, in a statement. “Now in collaboration with regional and statewide organizations, we turn our attention to building resilience and creating growth opportunities in the local impacted communities. We are here for these communities for the long haul.”
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