MANHATTAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE PARTNERS WITH LOUISIANA ASSOCIATION OF BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY

TO PROMOTE

SMALL BUSINESS DISASTER RELIEF FUND

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE            Contacts: Nancy Ploeger

September 14, 2005            Manhattan Chamber of Commerce
(212) 473-7875 and

                                                                                    Brigitte Nieland

Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, (225) 928-5388

(New York, NY and Baton Rouge, LA) – Responding to the tremendous desire of the business community across the United States to help with the Hurricane Katrina disaster relief effort, the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry (LABI), located in Baton Rouge, has established the Small Business Disaster Relief Fund.  Prior to creating the Fund, LABI consulted with Nancy Ploeger, President of the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce, regarding the Chamber’s successful initiative to assist small businesses following the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center.

Though the terrorist attacks and their aftermath differ in many ways from this regional natural disaster, the one element common to both was that a singular event devastated an economy, threatened the vitality of small business owners and operators, and resulted in a long-term rebuilding effort.  LABI President, Dan Juneau, contacted Ploeger and the Chamber because they had “lived through it” and knew they would have valuable experience and advice.

LABI adopted the Chamber’s model for a small business fund that would provide grants to allow small businesses to return to work quickly.  Utilizing the Chamber’s “Best Practices” from their fund experience, LABI launched the Small Business Disaster Relief Fund.

In a span of only 24 hours, Louisiana lost almost a third of its economy. The vast majority of businesses that have been shut down or greatly impaired are small businesses, the backbone of the area’s economy. These businesses provide the bulk of the jobs in any area. Until these small business owners get back on their feet, the Gulf Coast cannot substantially recover.

The Small Business Disaster Relief Fund will provide grants to help small businesses damaged by Hurricane Katrina get back into business as soon as possible. The grants will serve as “gap funding” to cover expenses not covered by insurance in order to bring as many enterprises as possible back on line quickly.

Contributions to the Small Business Disaster Relief Fund are tax deductible and can be made by check and mailed to:

            Small Business Disaster Relief Fund/BRAF

            402 N. 4th Street

Baton Rouge, LA   70802

Checks should be made payable to the Small Business Disaster Relief Fund/BRAF.  Contributions may also be made by credit card online through LABI’s Web site (www.labi.org). The contributions, dollar for dollar, will go directly to small businesses that need these funds to recover. All applications will be handled anonymously to ensure total fairness in the grant selection process. Volunteers from the CPA Society, local Bar Association, and Independent Insurance Agents association will be recruited to screen the applications.

In commenting upon the Fund, LABI President Dan Juneau stated: “I have literally received hundreds of emails from businesses and business associations from throughout the United States asking how they can help the businesses hit hard by Hurricane Katrina. The formation of the Small Business Disaster Relief Fund is one of the most effective ways they can join the effort to rebuild the shattered economy of the Gulf Coast. Many businesses from the Gulf Coast area sent financial assistance to Oklahoma City and New York City when disaster struck those areas. Now Gulf Coast businesses are hurting. I know businesses and trade associations from all across the nation will respond to give a helping hand to these companies as they struggle to pull themselves up by the bootstraps and get back into business.

“One hundred percent of the dollars contributed will go directly into the rebuilding of small businesses caught up in the biggest disaster in the modern history of our nation. I can assure you the small business owners who are assisted by this fund will be forever grateful,” concluded Juneau.

Ploeger quote:  "We are happy to share any of our experiences post 9/11 with chambers and other businesss organizations striving to support small businesses in the Gulf Coast area in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.  Already we have spoken with many chambers directly and through the recent US Chamber of Commerce's conference call with 50 participants.  Chambers nationwide supported us in our efforts and we want to help in any way we can, having first hand knowledge of the small business plight after such a disaster.  The most important issue is making the business owners feel that they are not forgotten in the overall picture and to boost their spirits and strength to rebuild.""

ELIGIBILITY AND APPLICATION PROCESS

LABI will begin accepting grant applications for the Small Business Disaster Relief Fund on September 15, 2005. Applications may be downloaded from the LABI Web site beginning on that date. Completed applications should be mailed to:

            Small Business Disaster Relief Fund/BRAF

            P.O. Box 80752

            Baton Rouge, LA  70898-0752

To be eligible for a grant, an applicant must be an owner or principal in a for-profit, private sector business that had fewer than 100 employees on August 29, 2005. Any affected business in a parish or county designated as a primary disaster relief area by the federal government will be eligible to apply for a grant. The business must have suffered substantial losses or the potential of long-term business interruption as a direct result of Hurricane Katrina.

The Small Business Disaster Relief Fund is not in place to give money to business owners who are permanently going out of business. Its role is to provide gap funding for elements insurance will not cover to assist small businesses’ reentry into the economy. An important part of the application will deal with how the applicant will use the grant to go back into business or bring their business back up to prior levels of activity more quickly. Another important factor will focus on how many jobs the grant will help to restore.