Southeast Indiana Chamber Foundation Receives $250K Grant

The grant will support Dearborn County businesses impacted by COVID-19 pandemic.

(Lawrenceburg, Ind.) - The Southeast Indiana Chamber Foundation, a 501c3 sister organization of the Dearborn County Chamber of Commerce, on behalf of Dearborn County, has been awarded a $250,000 grant to establish a revolving loan fund designed to support small to medium sized businesses negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The grant is part of a $10.09-million federal aid package awarded by Lt. Governor Suzanne Crouch and the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs to 42 rural Hoosier communities through the COVID-19 Response Program.

“Small businesses are the backbone of our Hoosier economy and they have made considerable sacrifices during the COVID-19 crisis.” said Lt. Gov. Crouch “This funding will help Hoosier small businesses continue to recover and will help make investments necessary to create safer spaces for their customers and staff.”

Dearborn County Chamber of Commerce President and CEO, Eric Kranz, added: “Our local communities have done a tremendous job coming together to mitigate the negative consequences of the pandemic. There has been so much collaboration and outreach over the last six months and it has been truly inspiring. At the Chamber, we’re excited to be able to contribute to these efforts through this grant which will make a profound difference to many of our local businesses.”

The $250,000 grant will also be supplemented with additional funds from the Dearborn County Chamber of Commerce, One Dearborn, the Civista Charitable Foundation and the Southeast Indiana Port Authority. With their help the fund will launch with a total loanable amount of $275,000.

The Southeast Indiana Chamber Foundation will be administering the revolving loan fund on behalf of Dearborn County and will release more details on eligibility, application process and terms and conditions of the loan in the coming weeks.

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