In the wake of last month’s historic flooding that left many residents and business owners across south Louisiana reeling, the Louisiana Small Business Rebirth Fund aims to extend a sense of rebirth to small business owners walking a long road to recovery.

Launched soon after the floodwaters receded, the fund offers “triage grants” of between $1,000 and $10,000.

According to the online application, to be eligible to apply for a Rebirth award, the applicant must:

  • Be a small businesses registered with the Louisiana Secretary of State with 50 employees or less
  • Have been operational on August 10, 2016
  • Be located in one of the 22 parishes declared in the official federal disaster declaration – Acadia, Ascension, Avoyelles, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Evangeline, Iberia, Iberville, Jefferson Davis, Lafayette, Livingston, Pointe Coupee, St. Helena, St. James, St. Landry, St. Martin, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Vermilion, Washington, West Baton Rouge and West Feliciana.

The rebirth fund grant amount will depend on the extent of damages incurred, how the money will be used, and the availability of funding.

The initial wave of applications were due by September 2, and applicants face a deadline of September 16 for a possible second round of awards from the fund.

“An independent review team of technical experts is considering each application in an impartial process, judging each request on the merits and prioritizing funds to help small business reopen their doors and staff their operations,” a statement on the application reads. “If donors request funds flow to a specific industry or geographic area, these applications would follow the same review process but be considered separately.”

Click here to submit your application online

Click here to download the application

Offline applications may be downloaded and submitted to Elena Lacour by fax to (225) 929-6054 or by email to marketing@labi.org.