The Downtown Winnipeg BIZ is hoping to help small businesses weather the storm of the second wave of COVID-19 with a new grant program.
The Downtown Winnipeg BIZ Connect Grant is intended to help downtown businesses support each other in service areas ranging from marketing, to HR, to finance and legal services.
Kate Fenske, BIZ CEO, told 680 CJOB the grant offers a way for small business owners to access services they might not be able to on their own, and it supports two downtown businesses with one grant.
“We were trying to figure out how can we support as many biz as possible downtown with the limited resources we have,” said Fenske.
“It’s really targeted to help those small businesses that are doing everything they can right, but maybe they don’t have the experts or the support that they need to just take it that one next step further.
“The thing is with downtown is we have so many experts in their fields that are working right now, so this grant is going to match those up — we’re going to pair businesses who need help with other downtown businesses who can provide it.”
Fenske said the goal is that business can generate revenue — during such a challenging time — with this extra support, not just in the current pandemic moment, but in future as well.
The grant — which was developed after the success of a micro-grant program the organization put together to help businesses in August — includes $50,000 in funding, with the potential of helping up to 20 area businesses.
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