As small, local businesses begin re-opening following months of COVID-19 related closures, Kent County has allocated $25 million in federal funds to provide temporary relief.
The relief fund, which is made up of CARES Act dollars, is being administered by the Grand Rapids Chamber. The county contracted with the Chamber, providing them $800,000 to carry out the work of distributing the grants.
Some community organization leaders say that money should be used in part to compensate partners who are helping the Chamber with community outreach and application review.
Dante Villarreal, vice president of business and talent development at the Grand Rapids Chamber, came up with the proposal, which prioritizes businesses that have not been able to access other relief funds.
"We are focused on businesses that may be dealing with additional barriers, including but not limited to language, financial acumen, and from under-served communities," reads the proposal provided to the Kent County COVID Relief Subcommittee, which formed to determine how federal coronavirus aid would be spent.
A spokesperson for the county says the Grand Rapids Chamber was chosen due to its past experience with managing a similar grant program for small businesses during the pandemic. The county said The Right Place was also considered for its similar work.
The Chamber's plan included extensive outreach efforts in collaboration with local governments and a host of entrepreneur support organizations. Now, two leaders of groups on that list say this process highlights a long-standing issue with economic inequality.
“This is not Grand Rapids Chamber being a bad organization, this is more business as usual," said Darel Ross, director of Start Garden and owner of Forty Acres.
Ross said the intentions are good, but the outcome doesn't serve the smaller and minority-run organizations who sign on to ensure their communities are served.
"It's left to a lot of the smaller players and a lot of the minority organizations... to end up bringing their expertise to the table and basically doing the work and the heavy lifting without compensation," Ross said.
Villarreal said that is not the case. The work, which he said includes wrap around technical and business assistance, is being done by experts within the Chamber.
"I do want to clarify that this fund is being managed by communities of color, by professionals of color. Myself, I'm a minority, as well," Villarreal said. "We have very talented subject matter experts, who also happen to be very diverse. So, it is being operated and run by professionals of color."
He said the ask from partner organizations was to help spread the word, which he says 60 organizations agreed to do. He says the Chamber also asked for organizations to nominate a board or community member to volunteer to serve on selection committees, which will review business applications.
"We don't want individuals or organizations to feel that they didn't have a say," Villarreal said.
Jamiel Robinson, founder and CEO of Grand Rapids Area Black Businesses, said he helped review applications for funds from the Michigan Economic Development Council earlier in the pandemic.
"It took us upwards of 40 hours to review 300 or so applications, and that was just for $630,000 where this is $25 million. So this is going to be significantly more work required of those who are involved," Robinson said.
Robinson, like Ross, said he'd like to see a partnership where the time and work of partnering organizations is valued at the same rate as the larger organization.
"We want to make sure that our communities receive those dollars. It shouldn't be at the cost of organizations not being compensated," Robinson said.
Villarreal said the Chamber is investing in some partners who are providing outside expertise. He said the priority right now is getting funds to businesses in need before it's too late, but that conversations surrounding nonprofit support are worth having.
"I think that's another conversation. How do we build them up? How do we build up their capacity, how do we strengthen them? Those are absolutely valid conversations to have," he said.
Ross said he hopes this process spurs conversations about equity that lead to change.
“This isn’t to knock the expediency of the funds or any of the players," Ross said. “If we really want change, if we really want different outcomes, we have to analyze ourselves within these processes and make sure that resources are being allocated appropriately."
The Chamber bills time at any hourly rate of $125-$225 depending on the expertise level of the staff performing the work, according to the fund proposal. The administrative fees accounted for 3.2%, the county said standard federal agreements allow for up to 10% administrative fees.
According to the proposal, those fees will go toward: outreach coordination with organizations and local governments, application and process development, application review and follow up, translation/interpretation services, wrap-around technical assistance and follow up, reporting, PR, technology platform, postage & printing and information systems.
The Chamber estimates anywhere between 2,000-3,000 business owners will apply for a grant. Applications are now open. Click here to learn more.
More stories on 13 ON YOUR SIDE:
►Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the 13 ON YOUR SIDE app now.
Have a news tip? Email news@13onyourside.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter. Subscribe to our YouTube channel.