Last week, Fredericksburg’s city council unanimously approved to allocate $500,000 of its CARES Act COVID-19 Relief Funds to support small businesses. Of that funding, $42,000 will be channeled directly to Fredericksburg Virginia Main Street (FVMS) to help the organization continue assisting downtown businesses with technology and COVID-associated safety needs.  FVMS has been instrumental in supporting these businesses as they face unprecedented challenges.

This spring, Virginia Main Street awarded FVMS $10,000 through the Small Business Support Relief and Recovery Initiative Grant, a grant program created in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, saw grants distributed to 23 Main Street communities across the state. FVMS put this money towards an initiative to provide downtown businesses with support to expand their online capacity, resulting in 37 grants ranging from $500 to $2,000.

Members of the city council acknowledged the success of these FVMS grants and the importance of e-commerce for local businesses during the pandemic. Along with the FVMS allocation, $250,000 of the CARES Funding is being put towards small business assistance grants, and $208,000 will go to develop a marketing campaign focused on how the city is safely reopening. To read the full story, click here.