A second round of grant funding supported by the Leelanau Township Community Foundation for local small businesses struggling to survive the effects of COVID-19 is available.

Businesses specifically in Leelanau Township — which includes Northport and Omena — with nine or fewer employees impacted by the COVID pandemic can apply now for grants up to $5,000. 

The Leelanau Township Community Foundation made this possible by awarding up to $30,000 to the Regional Resiliency Program that is administered by Venture North Funding and Development. This is the second grant round sponsored by the Community Foundation that awarded $25,000 in the first round that enabled grants to seven small businesses.

“We’ve received many testimonials about the value of the grants to small businesses,” says Laura Galbraith, Executive Director of Venture North. “The funding is being used to ward off crises and also to help companies create new approaches in sales and marketing to sustain revenues.”

She adds that Leelanau Township small businesses may use funding for a variety of purposes, from paying fixed costs like sewer taxes to costs involving new online sales systems.

“COVID-19 is an immense challenge facing Leelanau Township small businesses,” says Joan Moore, Executive Director of the Leelanau Township Community Foundation. “The first round of grants to Township businesses was helpful but there’s more to do. This grant to the Regional Resiliency Program will provide another shot in the arm to small businesses which are the economic backbone of the Township. We have to work through these uncertain times by supporting one another.”

Galbraith adds, “This is a wonderful display of leadership and caring in the face of the most damaging pandemic in at least a century. We hope that additional corporations and foundations will follow the lead of the Leelanau Township Community Foundation to benefit small businesses in that Township as well as the entire region we cover.”

Applications for grants will be accepted until 5pm on November 2, 2020. The application is available at the Venture North website or by emailing info@venturenorthfunding.org. An advisory team formed by the Foundation will review and provide recommendations on applications for grant funding by Venture North.