04.30.20
#GivingTuesdayNow Campaign to Aid Small Businesses
Tammy Allen, Director | Marketing & Programs, The NIIC
Small businesses may not have qualified for or received recent COVID-19 funding and still need assistance. The NIIC is launching a one-day campaign on May 5, 2020, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., to raise money for a business recovery fund to provide resources for small businesses to look forward and reset their businesses. It will focus on providing inspirational and financial capital to business builders.
The Community Foundation of Greater Fort Wayne (CFGFW) is providing matching funds up to $110,000 on a first-come, first-served basis. “The morning of Tuesday, May 5, provides the best opportunity for matched funds through the generosity of the Greater Fort Wayne Community Foundation,” said Karl R. LaPan, President & CEO, The NIIC. “We’re asking all who care about the future of small business in our community to make a gift on Tuesday morning. This is an excellent opportunity to double your donation dollars.” Visit cfgfw.org/donate on May 5 to give.
“Working together we will help support the backbone of our regional economy—small businesses,” said LaPan. Initially, in this campaign, the NIIC seeks $20,000 for a Small Business Recovery Fund. All money received will be used to support a loan pool for NIIC clients to reimagine their businesses. “As companies recover from this immediate crisis and repay their loans, those funds will be reinvested and recirculated continually through the regional economy,” said LaPan.
The NIIC campaign is part of a larger initiative inspired by The Community Foundation of Greater Fort Wayne. The Foundation is leading a community-wide campaign through the foundation’s website including over 100 participating nonprofit organizations.
About #GivingTuesdayNow
We believe generosity has the power to unite and heal communities in good times and bad. A global threat like COVID-19 touches every person on the planet, and it presents an opportunity to come together as a global community. #GivingTuesdayNow is a new global day of giving and unity that will take place on May 5, 2020 – in addition to the regularly scheduled December 1, 2020, #GivingTuesday – as an emergency response to the unprecedented need caused by COVID-19.
Let’s come together to create a wave of generosity, citizen engagement, action from business and philanthropy, and support for communities and nonprofits around the world.
About The NIIC
467 new products launched, 189 patent applications submitted or granted, and 2,290 jobs created—that is what entrepreneurs have achieved through The NIIC since its inception two decades ago. The NIIC has also connected Northeast Indiana companies to attract $91 million in grants and capital.
The NIIC is a non-profit, vibrant entrepreneurial community designed to advise entrepreneurs to plan, launch, and grow successful business ventures. The NIIC bolsters innovative companies to move ideas into action. The NIIC is located in a designated U.S. Small Business Administration HUB Zone. In April 2018, Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb designated The Northeast Indiana Innovation Park Campus as an Opportunity Zone through the U.S. Treasury. The NIIC is the country’s only ISO9001:2015 registered business incubation and acceleration program. TheNIIC.org. Click here for The NIIC press kit.
About WEOC
2,354 women and immigrants served, trained, and counseled—since WEOC’s formation five years ago. The Women’s Entrepreneurial Opportunity Center (WEOC) serves Northeast Indiana women at all stages of their business ventures. WEOC responds to the unique needs of women entrepreneurs through business growth coaching, training, and entrepreneurial education, connectivity and access to capital. WEOC is funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration. As the Host organization, The NIIC also provides supplemental funding and complementary resources. WEOC is an SBA designated Women’s Business Center—one of two in Indiana. For more information, visit www.inweoc.com.
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