The Reimagine Main Street initiative is partnering with the National Asian American Chamber of Commerce and Entrepreneurship to offer 100 grants to Asian American and Pacific Islander-owned businesses. Tammy Halevy, executive director of Reimagine Main Street, sat down with KCRA 3 to provide details on the grants ahead of a Tuesday night application deadline. Q: Let’s start by talking about these grants. What are they and why are they so important right now? Halevy: Reimagine Main Street has partnered with the Asian National Chamber of Commerce to provide $2 million in cash grants to AAPI businesses in the United States. The pandemic has been tough on small businesses with shelter-in-place orders and changes in demand. AAPI businesses were hit twice, experiencing the economic impact of the pandemic, and many of them experiencing significant racial bias because they owned Asian businesses. Q: What do business owners need to know before applying? Halevy: Basically, there’s $2 million available in grants. The application process is very simple, but it closes on Tuesday at 11:59 pm ET. To be eligible, the business must be 51% owned by AAPI and must operate in the US. There are no industry restrictions. There are two categories of grants: businesses started before the pandemic and businesses started during the pandemic. AAPI-owned businesses that started before January 1, 2020 and had at least $100,000 in annual revenue are eligible for grants between $25 and $50,000. Businesses started after January 1, 2020 are also eligible for a $10,000 grant. Q: Tammy, what do you hope these grants will ultimately do for communities? Halevy: We hope that these grants will do two things, number one, they provide a boost to businesses as we come out of the pandemic. And number two, help these AAPI companies do what they normally do, which is contribute to job creation and the social fabric of the community. We want to strengthen the offers of these businesses. If you are interested, you can learn more about the grants here.
The Reimagine Main Street initiative is partnering with the National Asian American Chamber of Commerce and Entrepreneurship to offer 100 grants to Asian American and Pacific Islander-owned businesses.
Tammy Halevy, executive director of Reimagine Main Street, sat down with KCRA 3 to provide details on the grants ahead of the application deadline Tuesday night.
Q: Let’s start by talking about these grants. What are they and why are they so important right now?
Halevi: Reimagine Main Street has partnered with the Asian National Chamber of Commerce to provide $2 million in cash grants to AAPI businesses in the United States. The pandemic has been tough on small businesses with shelter-in-place orders and changes in demand. AAPI businesses were hit twice, experiencing the economic impact of the pandemic, and many of them experiencing significant racial bias because they owned Asian businesses.
Q: What do business owners need to know before applying?
Halevi: Basically, there is $2 million available in grants. The application process is very simple, but it closes on Tuesday at 11:59 pm ET. To be eligible, the business must be 51% owned by AAPI and must operate in the US. There are no industry restrictions.
There are two categories of grants: businesses started before the pandemic and businesses started during the pandemic. AAPI-owned businesses that started before January 1, 2020 and had at least $100,000 in annual revenue are eligible for grants between $25 and $50,000. Businesses started after January 1, 2020 are also eligible for a $10,000 grant.
Q: Tammy, what do you hope these grants will ultimately do for communities?
Halevi: We hope that these grants will do two things, first, provide a boost to businesses as we come out of the pandemic. And number two, help these AAPI companies do what they normally do, which is contribute to job creation and the social fabric of the community. We want to strengthen the supply of these businesses.
If you are interested, you can learn more about the grants. here.