Collaborating with our partners
to provide monetary assistance
In August, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) announced the Michigan Small Business Restart Grant Program for small businesses and nonprofits that have been negatively impacted by COVID-19. Lansing Economic Area Partnership (LEAP) received funds from the MEDC to award $5.3 million in grant funding to 412 small businesses and nonprofits across Clinton, Eaton and Ingham counties. LEAP pulled CAMW! staff in to support that program. Collectively, these grantees reported these funds will allow them to rehire or hire 1,141 employees and ultimately retain 2,712 jobs.
There is no doubt businesses across the country have been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and some industries have been hit harder than others.
The good news, according to the Yardi Matrix, is 44% of jobs within the Lansing regional economy are in “durable employment sectors,” which are more resilient to major economic upheavals such as COVID-19. Those sectors include government, finance, and professional and technical services. These jobs largely have been retained despite the crisis, keeping our workforce on more stable footing.
But our region is also home to many small businesses — one of the segments most affected by economic stressors.
“Our region is truly a small business community, with 99.9% being small businesses with 500 employees or fewer,” said Bob Trezise, a member of Capital Area Michigan Works!’s Workforce Development Board and the Career Education Advisory Council, and president and CEO of Lansing Economic Area Partnership (LEAP).
More specifically, the core of our business community employs 50 or fewer people — predominantly microbusinesses with one to nine employees (61.5%) and traditional small businesses with 10-50 employees (34%). “These businesses need support right now, and I’m humbled that LEAP was able to assist in this effort,” Trezise said.
In August, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) announced the Michigan Small Business Restart Grant Program for small businesses and nonprofits that have been negatively impacted by COVID-19. LEAP received funds from the MEDC to award $5.3 million in grant funding to 412 small businesses and nonprofits across Clinton, Eaton and Ingham counties.
LEAP pulled CAMW! staff in to support that program. CEO Carrie Rosingana and Teri Sand, business services manager, helped vet businesses in our community that needed the most immediate assistance.
Together, we identified three categories for the region’s grant program to meet local needs and state requirements: microbusinesses, traditional small businesses and nonprofits.
“These are the types of businesses the restart grants were meant to aid, and it can’t be underestimated how critical these grants were for our region and its workforce,” Trezise said. “Collectively, these grantees reported these funds will allow them to rehire or hire 1,141 employees and ultimately retain 2,712 jobs.”
Local nonprofits and small businesses received their loans in September to assist with restart and recovery amid the ongoing pandemic. The grants are funded by federal CARES Act dollars, approved by the Michigan legislature and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, and provided to LEAP through the MEDC.
“Small businesses and nonprofit organizations are what make our region a wonderful place to live and work, and these grants were an incredible effort to come together and support our community,” Sand said.
