James City County is pleased to announce that within the last week, 30 County businesses were notified they will receive funding from the Greater Williamsburg Small Business Relief Fund to assist obstacles they faced due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Each of the 30 businesses received $3,000 after applying and being approved by volunteers from the VA 30 Day Fund. The Board of Supervisors previously allocated $500,000 to the fund for County businesses.
Businesses included local restaurants, two small manufacturers, professional services, healthcare-related industries and hospitality services. To date, James City County has received a total of 75 applications for the forgivable loans.
“I am thrilled with the diversity of County businesses that received funding from the Greater Williamsburg Small Business Relief Fund,” said Supervisor Sue Sadler, a member of the James City County Board of Supervisors. “On behalf of the Board, I encourage all County small businesses to consider applying for funding.”
Small businesses can apply for a $3,000 forgivable loan online at va30dayfund.com. Applications will be evaluated by volunteers from the Raymond A. Mason School of Business at William & Mary and the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia. Only businesses located in James City County are eligible for grants from the $500,000 allocated by James City County. Qualifying businesses must have operated for at least a year, employ three to 30 people and be owned and operated by a Virginia resident. Businesses are encouraged to repay the loan by depositing funding back into the fund when they are able to “pay it forward.”
“We are proud that our partnership was able to work quickly and get much needed dollars in the hands of struggling small businesses in just three quick days after VA 30 Day received funding. That’s lightning fast and folks need it. We look forward to funding dozens and dozens more small businesses in the County in the days and weeks ahead,” said Pete Snyder, who founded the VA 30 Day Fund with his wife, Burson. The Snyders have deep ties to our community as, Pete Snyder is an alum of the College of William & Mary a former Member if it’s Board of Visitors and Burson Snyder is a former board member of the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation. “The designated funding for business owners in James City County by the Greater Williamsburg Small Business Relief Fund is already a tremendous and powerful vehicle to help revitalize our local economy and that of the Commonwealth.”
About the Greater Williamsburg Small Business Relief Fund
The Greater Williamsburg Small Business Relief Fund was established by the Williamsburg Community Foundation (WCF) and the Greater Williamsburg Partnership in partnership with the VA 30 Day Fund at the end of April. The Greater Williamsburg Small Business Relief Fund provides forgivable loans to businesses located in the Greater Williamsburg region. The funding allocated from James City County is designated exclusively for County businesses. Dedicated staff from WCF work with the VA 30 Day Fund, who will administer the allocated funding including processing applications and issuing payments.
The Greater Williamsburg Small Business Relief Fund was the first public-private partnership fund established with VA 30 Day Fund. James City County was the first locality to allocate locality-specific funding to the VA 30 Day Fund. Originally, the Greater Williamsburg Small Business Relief Fund was established with $10,000 in seed money from the Economic Development Authorities of the City of Williamsburg, James City County and York County. Chesapeake Bank and two WCF trustees also committed to help.
If businesses or individuals are interested in donating to the Greater Williamsburg Small Business Relief Fund to support regional businesses, please visit the WCF Donation website. If you prefer, WCF can set up an electronic transfer from a bank account. For more information, please contact WCF at 757-259-1660 or office@williamsburgcommunityfoundation.org.
You can view the previous press release online.
Media Contact:
Christopher Johnson, Director of Economic Development
757-345-1196; christopher.johnson@jamescitycountyva.gov