Herald offers $500K in grants for small businesses

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Richner Communications Inc., publisher of Herald Community Newspapers and The Riverdale Press, this week announced a $500,000 grant program to support local businesses. Through the Herald Small Business Marketing Grant Program, each Long Island business is eligible to receive up to $15,000 of matching grant funds, which can be used for marketing services to promote the business’ products and services. The Herald Small Business Marketing Grant Program is being supported by:

Long Island Main Street Alliance 

Cedarhurst BID

Gold Coast Business Association

Bellmore Chamber of Commerce 

East Meadow Chamber of Commerce

Franklin Square Chamber of Commerce

Glen Cove Chamber of Commerce

Long Beach Chamber of Commerce 

Lynbrook Chamber of Commerce 

Malverne Chamber of Commerce 

Oceanside Chamber of Commerce 

Oyster Bay/East Norwich Chamber of Commerce 

Rockville Centre Chamber of Commerce 

Seaford Chamber of Commerce 

Vally Stream Chamber of Commerce 

Wantagh Chamber of Commerce 

West Hempstead Chamber of Commerce 

Businesses can apply for grants at www.liherald.com/grants starting on Wednesday, April 8, 2020, and they will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis.

“Small businesses are the lifeblood of our communities,” said Stuart Richner, president of RCI and publisher of Herald Community Newspapers. “With Long Island quickly becoming the center of the Covid-19 crisis, we knew that we had to do whatever possible to support our small business community.

“We are a small business ourselves, so we understand the pain that small business owners are going through right now,” Richner added. “But all studies show that businesses that continue to market during down times are those that fare the best long-term. We at the Herald want to do our part to make sure that members of our business community can continue to promote themselves during this trying period.”

Eric Alexander, of the Long Island Main Street Alliance, applauded RCI for stepping up to help the Long Island small business community. “Half-a-million dollars will go a long way toward helping the local restaurant owners, downtown retailers and other business services,” Alexander said. “With so many small businesses changing how they offer their services, like dine-in only restaurants now offering takeout, promotion is critical during this crisis and even more important as we head toward recovery.” 

The Herald Small Business Marketing Grant Program will provide up to $500,000 in matching advertising dollars and can be used toward print or digital advertising in any Herald or other RCI property. Since the coronavirus crisis started in March, the Herald has seen its audience increase by 100 percent, meaning that advertisers now have the ability to reach even more people than before.

The program is open to all locally owned and operated businesses impacted by the coronavirus. Grants are available for between $300 and $15,000 of matching funds and can be used in April, May and June 2020. 

Every dollar that a grant recipient spends on advertising will be matched with a dollar of grant funding, up to the award amount, to be applied toward advertising costs. Applications must be submitted via the online form at www.liherald.com/grants. Businesses will be notified about the status of their application within two business days of submitting it.