The Asheville Recovers Together Small Business Grants Program application window closed Tuesday, July 14 at noon. Businesses across Asheville submitted 772 applications. They collectively requested more than $42.4 million in recovery funding, providing evidence of Helene-related loss and plans for robust recovery. The program will distribute grants of $5,000 to $75,000 to help small businesses recover from the impacts of Hurricane Helene.
Funding for Asheville Recovers Together is provided by the City of Asheville through Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The City developed the program through its CDBG-DR Action Plan after a three-month public input process. Asheville Recovers Together is administered by ArtsAVL, Eagle Market Streets Development Corporation, and Mountain BizWorks.
This program is an important investment in Asheville’s economic recovery, with goals to help business recover, stabilize, and grow. Applicants reported:
- Physical damage from Helene totaling more than $117.3 million in aggregate across applicants
- A decline from 4,276 full-time employees before Helene to 3,621 currently; a loss of 655 jobs, or about 15%, among applicant businesses
Applications came from businesses across a wide range of industries, including the arts, local retailers, restaurants and breweries, agriculture, manufacturing, and more.
Next, applications will undergo a comprehensive review and selection process. Program partners anticipate announcing grant awards in late September.
For more information about Asheville Recovers Together, visit ashevillerecoverstogether.org.
