Seattle, WA – The CID Restaurants and other Small Businesses Relief Fund closed on February 13 after raising 900K for small businesses in the Chinatown International District.
The managers of the relief fund prepare the final granting round of relief aid for qualified businesses. This follows the three prior granting rounds, where qualified businesses received between $1,500-$5,000 throughout 2020.
“The wide ranging support for our relief fund has shown us the far reaching support for our neighborhood from across the region and beyond. I couldn’t imagine another neighborhood, Chinatowns or otherwise in our country, that have received this level of support from people who care about it. With vaccinations rolling out and businesses slowly re-opening, we can hope businesses in the CID continue to stay afloat and await better days on the horizon,” said Jamie Lee, Director of Community Initiatives at SCIDpda.
The fund began with an initial seed of $100K from Vulcan, Inc. in mid-March and was intended as direct funding for restaurants that suffered revenue losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Knowing there would be a broader need for relief among the neighborhood’s business community the CID Business Relief Team ran a charitable giving campaign that raised an additional $800K, which allowed the fund to be granted to other businesses like groceries, retailers, and service providers.
The relief fund is co-managed by the CID Business Relief Team, a conglomerate of community-based organizations that includes the Seattle Chinatown International District Preservation and Development Authority (SCIDpda), CID Business Improvement Area (CIDBIA), and Friends of Little Saigon (FLS).
“Please continue to patronize your favorite small businesses directly, as they will need your continued support during these difficult times. You can also directly support the organizations behind the CID Business Relief Team as we continue to help our small businesses find resources and navigate the economic and health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, said Valerie Tran, Operations Director at Friends of Little Saigon.
While the fund officially closed on February 13, the CID Biz Relief Team will continue to connect small businesses in the CID with resources and information to continue mitigating the impacts of COVID-19 on public health and the economy. In addition to the $900K raised by the relief fund, the CID Biz Relief Team has also connected businesses to over 1M in resources from the government, foundations, and other sources.
“Thank you to everyone for your support of small businesses in the Chinatown International District. Let’s continue this support into the Lunar New Year,” said Monisha Singh, Executive Director at Chinatown International District Business Improvement Area.
A True Collaboration
While the entities involved in the CID Business Relief Team collaborate year-round across issues related to economic development of the Chinatown International District, this COVID-19 response of the team is the most intentional and unified effort of the organizations to share, align, and combine resources to best serve businesses in the CID.
In addition to founding and managing the CID Restaurants and other Small Businesses Relief Fund, the CID Business Relief Team conducts neighborhood-wide outreach, interpretation, and translation of small business relief information, including available grants, loans, and other types of relief (i.e. utility and tax deferment, eviction moratoriums, etc.), shares guidance on safe reopening, and distributes PPE.
To date, no businesses in the CID have permanently closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Press inquiries and general inquiries related to the fund can be sent to cidbizrelief@scidpda.org.
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