The Louisiana Association of Business and Industry today announced the creation of the Louisiana Small Business Disaster Relief Fund to support the thousands of small businesses impacted by the historic flooding event.
“As the water recedes along the I-12 and I-10 corridor, our families, friends and colleagues are only beginning the challenging work of recovery,” says LABI President Stephen Waguespack in a prepared statement. “This is particularly true for small businesses that serve as the backbone to local economies across south Louisiana.”
This is the second time that LABI has created a disaster relief fund for small businesses. In the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, LABI awarded more than 200 grants worth more than $1.7 million to assist small business recovery.
An analysis by the Baton Rouge Area Chamber shows 21% of all businesses in the nine-parish Capital Region—or a total of 7,364 businesses with nearly 74,000 employees—are located in areas affected by flooding.
LABI says the numbers of companies and employees affected by flooding “will surely grow larger once the final impact across the entire disaster declaration area is tallied.”
“Not only are companies preparing to rebuild damaged sites and infrastructure, but many are assisting thousands of employees who lost homes in the flooding,” notes Waguespack. “While federal recovery programs can be helpful, they cannot be solely relied upon by those small businesses hit hardest by this tragedy. LABI and our member companies stand ready to help fill the gap for the long haul.”
An independent committee of LABI members with technical, accounting and legal expertise is currently being formed to prioritize grants to affected businesses. One hundred percent of contributions will be awarded to Louisiana small businesses, LABI says, and contributions to the fund are tax deductible.
