Vermont Business Magazine The City of Burlington’s Racial Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (REIB) department, in concert with their Rapid Response Team (RRT) and Business Support Team, today announced the recipients of the BIPOC Small Business and Non-Profit Relief Grant Program. In total, they received 30 inquiries about the program and fulfilled 29 applications with awards of $2,000-$7,000, amounting to $180,000 dollars. These grantees covered a wide range of industries and services including, but not limited to, food, beauty, exercise, language access, legal aid, mental health, masonry, holistic healing, and more.
This grant program was designed to provide relief for Burlington small businesses and non-profit organizations owned or run by (non-profit only) BIPOC (Black, indigenous, and people of color) individuals, in order to support a racially equitable recovery from the economic crisis of the Covid-19 pandemic. The program was funded thanks to generous donations from the following organizations: $50,000 from Seventh Generation, $50,000 from Burton, $30,000 from Ben & Jerry’s, $15,000 from VSECU, $10,000 from Vermont Gas, and $2,500 from the Preservation Trust of Vermont. The program also used $50,000 from the City’s Racial Justice Fund. To be eligible, businesses had to meet criteria that included being BIPOC owned, small (five employees or less, self-employed, or non-profit), experiencing loss of income related to Covid-19, and not receiving the previous Burlington Small Business Grant. All businesses who applied and met the eligibility criteria received an award. More information about the program is available on the City website.
Upon receiving their award notices, a significant number of applicants provided responses attesting to just how critical this relief fund is to their organizations. These responses include:
“I have been near speechless and do not know how to properly express my gratitude for the grant. Simply stated, thank you very much….This grant will not only ensure my firm's survival, but will further my firm's mission and purpose for the foreseeable future; a mission and purpose that is consistent and aligned with the mission and purpose of your department.”
“We always are forgotten – until now. Thank you for seeing us, and knowing that we are here too.”
“Thank you so much for this amazing grant. The city appreciates you!”
Disclosure of Grant Recipients
This program was designed to ensure that no grantee would have to make the impossible choice between seeking help or protecting their business/livelihood. Our department recognizes that extra caution must be taken around safety and protection when working with already vulnerable communities. Given these considerations, during the grant process, we allowed every applicant to choose whether or not their information would be published by our department upon receiving their grant. Several applicants did not give their consent for their information to be published and shared. Therefore, out of respect for their wishes and an abundance of caution for their protection, we chose to abide by these requests.
Now, however, our department has received two separate requests under the State of Vermont Public Records Act seeking the names of every grantee and the size of the grant they received. Though we were initially seeking to balance the privacy of BIPOC small business owners with public access to information, we will fully comply with the law in response to the requestors. We also are releasing the names of the majority of the grantees below and on our website. Specifically, we will not proactively release the names of the six applicants who did not consent to having their information shared.
“I am proud of this program and that the City and our partners were able to support BIPOC small business owners and non-profits during the immense economic pain of Covid-19,” said Tyeastia Green, the City of Burlington’s Director of Racial Equity, Inclusion & Belonging. “I was initially concerned that releasing these businesses’ names had the risk of opening them up to potential harassment or undue scrutiny on top of the stress of being a BIPOC business owner in a predominantly white city. However, I also want to be transparent about our work, and hope that many members of our community will choose to support these BIPOC business owners.”
We are pleased to award grants to the following small businesses and non-profits:
- Alnôbaiwi
- Burlington Legal Services, PLLC
- Café Mamajuana
- Casimiro Enterprises
- Chop Shop Hair Design
- EJHFuters, LLC
- Francis Transit, Inc.
- Hair R Us
- Harmony’s Kitchen
- Jamaican Supreme
- Language Services – Language Professor VT
- Mal Maiz LLC
- Missisquoi Masonry
- Mulu’s Kitchen and Catering
- NewSeasonsVT
- North Country Kettlebells, LLC
- People’s Kitchen
- Sherpa Kitchen
- Shinjuku Station
- Taste of Abyssinia
- Thai Phat Oriental Market
- Thompson’s Turtle Sports
- Wise Rose Beauty
Source: Burlington, VT – The City of Burlington 1.5.2021