Second Round of Nicholls Small Business Hurricane Ida Resilience Fund Launched

Nicholls Small Business Hurricane Ida Resilience Fund has launched a second round to provide assistance for businesses still suffering the impacts of Hurricane Ida. 

Business grants of $5,000 are available as gap funding to solve a specific issue faced by the business. With $75,000 in total funds available, only 15 businesses that meet all criteria will be considered based on needs. 

Due to the scale of the issues facing the Bayou Region community, Nicholls will provide limited assistance based on keeping the most impacted businesses solvent until a more permanent solution is found.

“It’s been a little over a year since Hurricane Ida made landfall. Many businesses are still making up for the losses. Our goal is to help the community that we serve recover,” Jimmy Nguyen, assistant director of Louisiana Small Business Development Center at Nicholls said. “We’re going to continue finding ways to provide the necessary resources to those in need. This could not have been achieved without the efforts and donations provided by Chevron, Nicholls State University, and the Louisiana Small Business Development Center. I know how resilient our community is and we will definitely bounce back.” 

Applicants must:

• Be located and operate primarily in Lafourche Parish or Terrebonne Parish
• Have been a viable business PRIOR to Aug. 29, 2021 with at least $10,000 in sales and is currently operating or in the process of reopening
• Be considered a small business, as defined by SBA (excludes non-profits)
• Have NOT been awarded in the first round of Nicholls Small Business Hurricane Ida Relief Fund
• Explain why this funding is essential for their business’s recovery and continuity
• Explain what their business wishes to accomplish over the next one to two years
• Explain how important their business is to the community
• Complete the application with all needed information and materials

Applicants must submit:

• Completed application forms with any needed attachments by 6 p.m. on Nov. 28, 2022
• Proof of business ownership and structure (applicant only has to submit one of the following documents):
  • Articles of Organization
  • Copy of Parish Occupational License
  • Certificate of Occupancy (will only have if brick and mortar)
  • Proof of Good Standing with Louisiana Secretary of State (will only have if LLC)
• Evidence of business viability (must submit BOTH documents below):
  • 2021 tax-return form or a letter of extension with a profit and loss statement
  • Verified 2022 year-to-date annual income statement
• Complete the survey on business resilience (click here for survey link)

Once approved, applicants must fill out a completed W-9 as grant awards are reported as income per IRS guidelines. Then, applicants must sign a public release form for Nicholls to track and aggregate data collected from participating companies to demonstrate business community needs and the resulting impact of philanthropic investment in the business. 

Applications should be submitted to Nicholls College of Business at relief.fund@nicholls.edu. To watch the video directions for the application form and view FAQ, click here.