March 28, 2024

New Resilience Grants can help businesses emerge from pandemic

New Resilience Grants can help businesses emerge from pandemic

THE PLAINS, Ohio = — The Resilience Fund is offering a new round of grants to help businesses and nonprofits position themselves for a strong recovery as the COVID-19 pandemic begins to ease.

In 2020, the fund disbursed a total of $107,345 to help struggling businesses keep the lights on and survive. As they begin to emerge from the pandemic, businesses face new challenges — and opportunities — that the fund hopes to address with its latest round. Grants of $3,000 will be awarded based on available funding and applicants’ ability to demonstrate a potential impact on their ongoing sustainability.

The fund, which also is seeking additional support from individuals  to fuel this new round of grants, requires that applications be submitted by 5 p.m. EDT on Friday, March 26. Whether an application is funded or not, the business willreceive information about loans, capital investment, and other grant sources. A Grants Committee composed of stakeholders from the fund’s founders will meet after the application deadline to assess applications and make award decisions. 

Eligibility
Businesses, social enterprises, sole proprietors, and revenue-generating nonprofits based in the following Ohio and West Virginia counties, or doing business that substantially impacts these counties, are eligible to apply.

Ohio Counties: Adams, Ashtabula, Athens, Belmont, Brown, Carroll, Clermont, Columbiana, Coshocton, Gallia, Guernsey, Harrison, Highland, Hocking, Holmes, Jackson, Jefferson, Lawrence, Mahoning, Meigs, Monroe, Morgan, Muskingum, Noble, Perry, Pike, Ross, Scioto, Trumbull, Tuscarawas, Vinton, and Washington.

West Virginia Counties: Wood, Wirt, Calhoun, Gilmer, Roane. 

For more information about applying for a Resilience Fund grant — or to donate to the fund — please visit www.ResilienceGrants.com. The website also includes a Frequently Asked Questions section with more details on the grant process.

The Resilience Fund was formed in May 2020 by sixorganizations that banded together to offer rapid-response grants in Appalachian Ohio and the Mid-Ohio Valley counties of West Virginia. The six fund founders are Rural Action, Ohio University’s Voinovich School, the Athens County Foundation,  Sugarbush Valley Impact Investments, the Foundation for Appalachian Ohio, and the Parkersburg Area Community Foundation.