Help offered for area businesses, non-profits

POTTSTOWN » Grants and resources are being rolled out to help local businesses and non-profits weather the economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.

Hobart’s Run, the neighborhood economic development arm of The Hill School, is sponsoring a series of small grants.

They will provide six $500 Community Impact Grants for nonprofit organizations and five $1,000 Small Business Impact Grants for small businesses that started in 2018 or 2019.

“We are also looking for donors to match these amounts so that we increase the number of grants,” Hobart’s run posted in its newsletter.

Contact tfisher@thehill. org with questions or more information.

Small businesses have been particularly hobbled by Gov. Tom Wolf’s order Thursday evening, ordering all “non-life-sustaining businesses” to shut down until further notices.

Restaurants are offering curb-side and pickup service, but all dining rooms are closed in an attempt to practice the “social distancing” medical experts say is a necessary precaution to prevent the spread of the virus, which has now killed more than 10,000 people worldwide.

Another way to support local businesses is to buy gift cards for use after the emergency has passed, providing them with cash to get through a period of no customers.

Businesses that fail to comply with the shutdown order risk citations, fines or license suspensions, and “forfeit their ability to receive any applicable disaster relief and/or may be subject to other appropriate administrative action,” Wolf’s office said in a statement.

Criminal prosecution is also a possibility, with violators subject to fines or imprisonment, Wolf’s office said.

The Pennsylvania Chamber of Commerce and Industry has complained that some manufacturers ordered closed are actually vital parts of the supply chain.

Among the toughest actions by a U.S. governor to combat the spread of COVID-19, the details of Wolf’s shut down order were a moving target. For example, on Friday, the Wolf administration said it was moving laundromats to the “life-sustaining” category that can remain open and said other changes could follow, the Associated Press reported.

In the meantime, the TriCounty Area Chamber of Commerce is maintaining and updating a list of businesses in the area and whether they are closed, open or have changed their regular schedule.

You can find it on the web at:

http://www.tricountyareachamber.com/supporting-commerce/covid19-business-updates.aspx

Further, Leadership TriCounty has created a similar website for non-profit organizations in need of help.

The web address is: https://www.leadershiptricounty.org/communityneeds-list and “nonprofits are also encouraged to submit their needs requests on the same website,” the chamber wrote in a press release..

“If you would like to offer assistance to a local nonprofit, please visit this website to see what needs there currently are,” the release stated.

The Salvation Army, Boyertown Multi-Service and Rolling Hills have all already posted needs for supply donations.