Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, many businesses in the hard-hit arts and hospitality industries were forced to shutter. But drawing from state grant funding, Brooklyn Coffee Tea & Guest House LLC event space and Blaze Smith Hill restaurant expanded.
The funding – a $10,000 R.I. Commerce Corp. grant and a $5,050 Hospitality, Arts & Tourism grant – allowed the venue space and restaurant, which are located at the same address on Douglas Avenue in Providence, to start on projects that will bring updated technology, new partnerships with other arts organizations, and more indoor and outdoor seating space to the businesses.
“A lot of spaces have closed,” said Berry-Jean Murray, CEO of both businesses. “We’ve used this grant money to expand where we can so that we have a lot more venue space.”
While many have also called on state leaders to allocate a portion of the state’s $1.1 billion of American Rescue Plan Act funding to help small businesses, grants and other assistance programs already have played an instrumental role in helping small businesses to weather temporary closures, increased expenses and other pandemic hardships. Much of the money came from $1.25 billion awarded to Rhode Island through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act in 2020.
Some programs still have money available, and others are still being created.
Earlier this month, Gov. Daniel J. McKee unveiled a $4.5 million Back to Business program that would offer $5,000 grants to small businesses struggling with labor shortages.
‘Not only did it help us stay afloat, it helped us really grow as well.’
JOHN CARNEY, American Ecotech customer service manager
While there are “never enough resources for small businesses,” Murray said, she sees these funding efforts as “an absolute, sincere attempt” to help small businesses stay afloat and thrive in the face of hardship.
“These grants have just breathed life into a lot of these businesses … that COVID just devastated,” Murray said.
The Hospitality, Arts and Tourism program – otherwise known as the HArT Recovery Grant Program – awarded $6.1 million to 79 organizations to support additional arts programming, and $8.9 million to directly support arts and cultural organizations.
Also, a Restore Rhode Island grant program provided $5.2 million to 4,353 awardees, while a bridge loan program dispersed 334 loans totaling $1.7 million. Additionally, the Take it Outside program dispersed 111 awards totaling $7.4 million to help businesses increase outdoor activities.
R.I. Commerce continues to offer small-business assistance such as the Innovation Voucher program, which provides up to $50,000 to businesses for research and development purposes and has so far awarded 97 vouchers totaling $4.5 million. The ongoing Rhode Island Small Business Assistance Program has awarded over $22 million toward 168 loans intended to support small-business owners and entrepreneurs having difficulty securing credit from traditional lending sources.
At the federal level, the U.S. Small Business Administration programs have provided around $4 billion to the state’s small businesses to assist with COVID-19-related struggles, according to Mark S. Hayward, SBA Rhode Island district director.
That amount comprises a mixture of grants and loans, Hayward said, and around 95% to 97% of the loans have been forgiven. Additionally, the agency has rolled out various technical assistance programs throughout the pandemic.
Warren-based American Ecotech LLC, which designs and installs air pollution monitoring systems, also experienced a boost in business through its use of state grant funding, said John Carney, the company’s customer service manager.
American Ecotech received a $25,000 Restore RI grant that went to pay for utilities and rent and a $36,000 SupplyRI grant for pandemic-related technology and workplace adjustments. The business also received two Innovation Vouchers.
“We came out of this better than where we entered,” Carney said. “So not only did it help us stay afloat, it helped us really grow as well.”
With the grant funding, American Ecotech expanded its technology so that more employees could work remotely and offer virtual training for clients.
Some businesses may not be aware of these programs, Carney said, noting that office manager Traci Lasher, who wrote the grants, set aside time to keep on top of grant opportunities. For businesses unfamiliar with the process, Carney said, it might be more difficult.
Laurie White, president of the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce, said that state and federal grants provide essential support for small businesses, though challenges that could be more difficult to address through grants alone are overwhelming many businesses.
“To have cash on hand in the form of grants and loans, particularly for businesses that have suffered, is vitally important,” White said.
But the needs of businesses have changed since the early days of the pandemic, White said, often shifting from primarily financial concerns to problems such as worker shortages. To address this issue, White said that funding for training programs can increase the number of skilled workers needed for short-staffed fields, which could provide some relief.
Jacquelyn Voghel is a PBN staff writer. Contact her at Voghel@PBN.com.