Small Business Relief and Recovery

About the Program

Category: Community and Economic Development (Best in Category)

Year: 2021

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Hennepin County recognized the dire threat to small businesses and acted swiftly to respond with an innovative three-pronged approach focusing on targeted and accessible direct financial relief; culturally responsive technical assistance and networking through a new digital platform; and a widescale “shop local, shop safe” marketing campaign focused on key business districts.Hennepin County’s small business response aimed to stabilize small businesses by providing urgent direct financial assistance, while also connecting businesses to critical support and technical assistance that could help them adapt, survive, and ultimately recover from the pandemic.By working with a wide variety of public, private, cultural and community partners, we sought to not only meet the immediate needs of diverse small businesses, but also to build a stronger and sustainable small business support environment that will position our region for success beyond the pandemic.To date, Hennepin County has provided over 6,400 grants totaling $69.4 million. More than 40% of these grants went to businesses owned by Black, Indigenous, and people of color. There are more than 700 active users of the new digital technical assistance networking platform. The advertising campaign resulted in more than 7.5 million impressions.