WVIR | Virginia 30 Day Fund commits $100K to small businesses impacted by riots, protests
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) – A Charlottesville-based nonprofit wants to help Virginia small businesses impacted by vandalism during protests against racism and the death of George Floyd.
The Virginia 30 Day Fund was originally created to help shops during the coronavirus pandemic. Now, it is committing at least $100,000 to help stores that experienced property damage or theft.
The first business to receive money through this new initiative is Waller & Company Jewelers in Richmond. The 120-year-old African-American family-owned shop on Broad Street was vandalized and looted over the weekend.
Money from the fund does not need to be repaid.
06/03/2020 Release from the Virginia 30 Day Fund:
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The nonprofit Virginia 30 Day Fund announced today that it will commit at least $100,000 to helping Virginia small businesses that have experienced property damage and theft in recent days due to the rioting and vandalism that have hijacked otherwise peaceful protests against racism and the brutal murder of George Floyd by police in Minnesota last week.
As the Richmond Times-Dispatch reports today, “[t]he special fund created to help budding businesses in Virginia operate during the coronavirus pandemic now is shifting some of its money to help small companies impacted from protests that have turned violent and destructive in recent days.”
The first small business to receive funds via this new initiative is Waller & Company Jewelers – a 120-year-old, African-American family-owned retail jewelry business located in Richmond. In recent days, Waller & Company has been repeatedly vandalized and looted, despite brave attempts by the business’s owners and community members to protect it. The property damage and theft are “[v]ery unfortunate due to the positive effects of people trying to protest,” said David Waller, the store’s owner and manager. “Some people who didn’t have good intentions decided to use this opportunity to do break-ins and break glass and be violent.” As the historic family business cleans up and rebuilds with the help of volunteers, the Virginia 30 Day Fund will provide direct financial support to help mitigate the losses they have sustained.
“At the Virginia 30 Day Fund, we’re passionate about economic opportunity and racial justice for every family in our commonwealth. I’m pleased that we’re able to come together to help urban small businesses damaged by looting; many of them are minority-owned businesses who have already been crushed by the crippling effects of the COVID-19 crisis,” said D.J. Jordan, Virginia 30 Day Fund Advisory Board Member and former Chair of the Virginia State Board of Social Services. “As our nation and state reel from the trauma of the senseless death of George Floyd and others, we must ensure that our community’s advocacy for justice doesn’t make small business workers and their families into victims as well.”
“We can never tolerate the murder of African Americans – or any Americans – by police, nor can we accept the destruction of communities and livelihoods through rioting, theft and vandalism,” said Pete Snyder, who cofounded the Virginia 30 Day Fund with his wife, Burson. “As Virginia small businesses, which are already at grave risk due to the COVID-19 crisis, work to pick up the pieces and rebuild from this damage, we are here to help build them back up. Rather than allowing the violent few to tear down what others have built, we will come together with our fellow Virginians to heal our commonwealth.”
The Snyders teamed up with other Virginia leaders in early April to launch the nonprofit Virginia 30 Day Fund in order to provide direct financial assistance to at-risk small businesses and save jobs in response to the COVID-19 crisis. Since then, the fund has helped more than 300 small businesses and grown to more than $1.7 million raised and pledged.
The application process is easy and free of red tape. The funds do not need to be repaid, but if a business feels they have recovered sufficiently, they can “pay it forward” to another at-risk business – which some have already begun to do. Virginia businesses that qualify for assistance from the Fund are small businesses:
- Employing three to 30 people;
- Based in Virginia and operating for at least one year;
- Owned and operated by a Virginia resident.
For more information or to apply, visit va30dayfund.com – and if your business or the business of someone that you know has been impacted by the recent riots, please encourage them to apply for aid from us.
