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FSEDI wraps up three successful programs

FRANKLIN

Over the last three months, Franklin Southampton Economic Development Inc. (FSEDI) has awarded more than 100 business grants through strategic funding partnerships the organization received to help area businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

There were three grants programs available for area businesses to apply for support. The following community partners were responsible for funding the emergency grant programs: FSEDI, The Camp Family Foundations, Franklin Southampton Charities, Obici Healthcare Foundation and Southampton County.

FSEDI Board Chairman Harrell Turner said, “Providing assistance to the small business community is an organizational pillar of FSEDI, and financial partnerships allow that missional mandate to continue. We are so thankful to have been able to administer two rounds the Marketing and Fixed-Cost Grant Program.

Ashley Covington, interim president and CEO, said “We are grateful for the following community partnerships that allowed our office to increase funding availability: Franklin Southampton Charities and the Camp Family Foundations, Obici Healthcare Foundation, and Southampton County. Because of their generosity, we were able to distribute more than $300,000 in grant funding over a period of nine months.”

The Marketing and Fixed Cost Grant Programs gave each business the opportunity to apply for up to $3,000 in reimbursable grant funding, going directly towards fixed-cost expenses. Between the two programs, FSEDI was able to allocate funding to 43 businesses in the spring and 46 businesses in the fall. The for-profit businesses had to be located in either the City of Franklin or Southampton County. Some of the business sectors represented within those businesses are as follows: retail, personal services, restaurants, auto repair and food manufacturing. The average amount of grant funding given to each business was $2,946, allowing direct support for fixed-cost expenses and the purchase of various health and safety equipment.

Through Southampton County funding from the CARES Act, FSEDI distributed a Reimbursable Grant to assist with the financial burden of COVID-19. The CARES Act Small Business Grant was a one-time financial assistance program for eligible, for-profit Southampton County small businesses to reimburse the costs of business interruption directly or indirectly related to Governor Northam’s Executive Order 53. Grants were available for an amount up to $5,000 per business. FSEDI was able to administer an average of $4,987 to 16 individual businesses.

For additional information on these grant programs, contact Ashley Covington at 757-562-1958.