Ciresi-backed grant program leads to $560K in funding for local businesses
Rep. Joseph Ciresi October 26, 2020 | 4:31 PM
ROYERSFORD, Oct. 26 – State Rep. Joe Ciresi, D-Montgomery, lauds the small business grants that were recently awarded to the 146th Legislative District he serves. Funding totaling $560,000 is being shared by more than two dozen local businesses through the COVID-19 Relief Statewide Small Business Assistance grant program.
In June, Ciresi voted for the state budget that included the $225 million grant program for small businesses that suffered because of the COVID-19 health crisis. This was after he worked with state Rep. Pam Snyder, D-Fayette/Greene/Washington, to draft the first legislation to create an Ultra-Small Business Grant Program for businesses financially affected by the pandemic and a grant program to help businesses adjust operations to safely reopen during the pandemic.
Those ideas, Ciresi said, were incorporated into the enacted budget and the small business grant program announced June 8 by Gov. Tom Wolf.
“As I said then, small businesses are the backbone of our communities,” Ciresi said. “Knowing so many of our local businesses are able to utilize this funding – grants, not loans, as I constantly said to my colleagues and the governor – in these exceptionally difficult economic times provides me both pride and pleasure. I also know our work is not yet done, and I will continue to fight for the men and women who own and operate local businesses not just in our community but throughout the Commonwealth.”
The recent awards of grants ranging from $5,000 to $40,000 to small businesses in the 146th Legislative District were allocated by the Department of Community and Economic Development through Community Development Financial Institutions. Entities receiving grants included restaurants and caterers, hair and nail salons, tattoo shops, and other small businesses.
Ciresi’s office in Royersford personally reached out to more than 600 businesses in his district to ensure they knew about this particular grant program.
More information about these grants is available by contacting Ciresi’s office at 484-200-8265.