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Birmingham Business Relief Fund helps small storefronts damaged on Sunday night
Many small businesses in downtown Birmingham are still recovering from the damage done to their storefronts on Sunday night, May 31. In response, the community has set up the Birmingham Business Relief Fund to help these businesses back on their feet. Learn more.
Immediate Response
Although many of us stayed up late to watch the Facebook livestreams of the riot downtown, lack of sleep did not prohibit Birmingham from coming out to help rebuild. Before dawn, a large group of Birminghamians set up groups to help clean and repair the damage from Sunday’s night of civil unrest. Birminghamians from all around town began sweeping up glass, boarding up shop windows and cleaning graffiti.
And what’s more, several local painters used the protective plywood barriers as a new canvas for murals, seen here.
Birmingham also launched several GoFundMe campaigns to give a helping hand to these businesses:
Birmingham Business Relief Fund
Although many of the nearly 30 affected small businesses in downtown have some form of insurance, a little extra help is always appreciated. That’s why several Birmingham organizations have set up the Birmingham Business Relief Fund, a community-led response to the needs of our small businesses.
The fund is a collaborative effort between the City of Birmingham, the Birmingham Business Alliance, REV Birmingham, Urban Impact and the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham.
Which Businesses are Eligible?
While all downtown businesses that sustained damage are encouraged to apply, the Birmingham Business Relief Fund prioritizes:
- Small business or property owners with less than 25 employees
- Women, minority and disadvantaged owned businesses
- Affected non-profit organizations
- Businesses
- located in downtown Birmingham’s City Center
- headquartered in the City of Birmingham or Jefferson County
- that hold City of Birmingham business licenses
- Businesses or owners who have not had their needs met by donations from other funds or campaigns
If you are a small business who was affected, apply to the Birmingham Business Relief Fund here. If you’d like to make a donation, visit the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham website.
