In the past six months, seven neighborhood businesses in our service area received Business Interruption Grants (BIG) from the State of Illinois, bringing in a total of $355,000.
The award recipients are Bash Sports Academy, Calihan Catering, Gallery 1028, Goose Island Shrimp House, Hideout Chicago, Maplewood Brewing, and Metropolitan Brewing.
The State of Illinois made two rounds of BIG grants; North Branch Works staff fielded questions from our members, held a virtual meeting with the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, and encouraged as many of our members as possible to apply.
We’re thrilled to see financial resources coming to our member businesses during a time of tremendous need across Illinois. In some cases, these grants will help businesses survive the worst of the pandemic.
Even though these resources are flowing into our service area, it remains an incredibly important moment to support neighborhood businesses whenever possible.
And that’s another reason we’re working hard to expand our network of business members so we can foster mutually beneficial economic development that creates high-quality jobs and supports thriving businesses.
One of our top priorities remains to help our members obtain local, state, and federal grants. And we regularly do research and identify grants and other resources for business growth and development.
Receiving timely updates about resources, introductions to local businesses and nonprofits as well as help applying for grants are major benefits of joining North Branch Works as a member.
Stay tuned for information about the rollout of the second round of Paycheck Protection Program, which is expected to open to all businesses sometime during the week of January 18.
And start 2021 with the support of North Branch Works. Join us as a member, tap into our network of member businesses and nonprofits, and put our staff to work for you.
With questions and to join as a member, please contact Steve Simmons, 773-929-5552 x2226, steve@northbranchworks.org.