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26 Far Eastside Minority Businesses Receive $5,000 Small Business Relief Grants from LISC Indianapolis

11.12.2020

INDIANAPOLIS – As we move forward through the pandemic, support for our neighborhood small businesses is even more critical. We are excited to share that with financial support from MJ Insurance, The Clowes Fund, IndyREAL, Glick Philanthropies, Chubb, and JPMorgan Chase Foundation, we launched the third round of Indianapolis Small Business Relief Grants for Minority, Immigrant and Women-owned Businesses, this time focusing on businesses located on the Far Eastside.

In this third round of funding, LISC Indianapolis received more than 240 applications from small businesses in the neighborhood. With the help of a review committee, 21 black-owned businesses and five Latinx-owned businesses located in the Far Eastside were selected to receive the $5,000 grant. All grantees have 10 or fewer employees. Approximately 69% of the grant recipients are women-owned businesses (18 of the 26 businesses) and represented a variety of types of businesses including childcare, retail, food, and personal care services.

In 2020, LISC Indianapolis has awarded $5,000 of these Small Business Relief Grants to 76 minority, immigrant and women-owned businesses, totaling $380,000. In addition, 75 local businesses were awarded $20,000 LISC Neighborhood Business Grants.

Round Three Grantees:

A Child Was Born
Arts Skillet
ChiIndy Creationz
Crown of Glory Hair Salon
Designs in a Box
Divine Investment Partners
Estetica Maricruz
Family life Child Care
Freestyle Cupcake Bar
Happy Learning Academy
J&M Discount Merchandise
Jimmies Soulfood & More
Melanin Magic
Ms. Marsha's Sweets
Netta's Bright Beginnings Child Care
Our Amazing Angels Child Care
Pinky's Sweet Tooth Factory
Panaderia La Moderna
Razor Game
RJ's Tacos and Burritos
Shocks Lawncare and Landscaping
Silver Spoon Events
Sista's Eatery
SweattBoxx Wellness Center
The Taste of Ty
Wall Street Market


Click here for a list of Round 1 grantees, and here for a list of Round 2 grantees. To date, LISC Indianapolis has awarded $5,000 grants to 76 minority, immigrant and women-owned businesses, totaling $380,000.

“Together with residents and partners, LISC aims to address the challenges of COVID-19 with a distinct focus on equity and inclusion,” said Tedd Grain, Executive Director of LISC Indianapolis. “The resiliency of our women-and-minority-owned enterprises will be critical to our economic recovery. We must prioritize these investments in our traditionally under-resourced and connected Indianapolis communities.”

At the beginning of 2020, LISC began working with organizations on the Far Eastside to create an Economic Inclusion Agenda to help identify strategies for more inclusive economic and workforce development. Through this process, we learned more about the diverse small business community and also understood that they were being especially hard hit by the pandemic. This dedicated small business recovery grant for this community is one of the early implementation items of the Economic Inclusion Agenda.

Click here for a list of Round 1 grantees, and here for a list of Round 2 grantees. The following organizations participated in the review committee: La Plaza, CICF, Indy Black Chamber, The Ross Foundation, Indy Chamber –Develop Indy, UNEC/ANU, and Far Eastside residents.