The Dulles Chamber of Commerce Now Accepting Applications and Donations to Support Minority Small Business Owner Grant Program

Chantilly, Va., June 20, 2022 – Today, the Dulles Regional Chamber of Commerce unveiled its new Minority Small Business Owner Grant Program. With a history of innovation and making the Dulles Region a center for both business and community growth, the Chamber is constantly exploring new ways to address the changing landscape of business and provide connections that help business owners thrive.

The Dulles Regional Chamber of Commerce Minority Small Business Owner Grant program was established to assist minority and women owned small businesses in Fairfax and Loudoun counties in Virginia, to foster an inclusive culture of encouragement, as well as offer financial support.

Small businesses across the country have struggled since the onset of the pandemic, but surveys conducted by Meta Platforms, Inc. have consistently found that businesses have been hit the hardest during the pandemic, including during the Omicron wave in January 2022 when Meta’s latest Small Business survey was conducted. Furthermore, a series of Federal Reserve surveys have found that White owned small businesses are twice as likely to be fully approved for financing as Black and Latino owned firms.

“These disparities show just how important it is to support minority and women owned businesses. As cornerstones of their respective communities, these businesses shape the unique characteristics that make up our main streets. We believe this minority small business owner grant program can serve as a conduit for those connections by empowering minority and women owned businesses, while providing a way for our small business community to unite and support one another,” said John Boylan, President & CEO, Dulles Regional Chamber of Commerce.

The Dulles Regional Chamber of Commerce has partnered with America’s Charities, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization based in Virginia, to administer and manage its grant program. America’s Charities is responsible for distributing funds donated and granted through the program, as well as performing all reviews and decisions for applications.

The launch of this minority small business grant program comes on the heels of the two year anniversary of the Dulles Regional Charitable Fund, which the Chamber established in partnership with America’s Charities amidst the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic to help raise funds for the Chamber’s nonprofit members. A generous donation by chamber members Terra Site Constructors and MainStreet Bank enabled the establishment of that fund. Within months of its launch, community donors generated $50,000 to help nonprofits in the Dulles Region. The Chamber and America’s Charities both expect to see similar performance and interest with the rollout of the Minority Small Business Owner Grant Program.

“America’s Charities has provided charitable funds management expertise to Fortune 500 and small businesses alike for more than 40 years. This service includes our experience reviewing grant applications and processing more than $20 million in emergency assistance fund grants for more than 120 companies who reach more than 1.5 million employees globally. We were honored to help the Chamber launch the Dulles Regional Charitable Fund two years ago and we are pleased to support the new Minority Small Business Owner Grant program and so many admirable small business owners in the Dulles Region,” said Kimberly Young, Vice President, Business Development, America’s Charities.

The Chamber’s grant program is open to minority and women owners of small for-profit businesses located in Loudoun and Fairfax Counties in Virginia who have experienced a financial hardship due to the events in the past two years with 10 employees or less. Applications can be submitted online at www.charities.org/DullesChamber now through July 8, 2022.

To support this program, we invite you to make a tax-deductible donation at https://www.charities.org/quickstart/DRCF.