Grant program offers $500K to local businesses

Richner Communications Inc., publisher of The Riverdale Press and Herald Community Newspapers, announces this week a $500,000 grant program designed to support local businesses.

The Riverdale Press Small Business Grant Program makes every business in our general circulation area eligible to receive up to $15,000 of matching grant funds, which can be used toward marketing services to promote products and services.

Through the end of April — as long as grant funds are available — businesses can apply for grants at RiverdalePress.com/grant.

“Small businesses are the lifeblood of our communities,” said Stuart Richner, president of RCI and publisher of The Riverdale Press. “With New York quickly becoming the epicenter of the COVID-19 crisis, we knew that we had to do whatever possible to support our small business community.

“We are a small business ourselves, so we understand the pain that small business owners are going through right now. But all studies show that businesses that continue to market during down times are those that fare the best long term. We want to do our part to make sure that members of our business community can continue to promote themselves during this trying period.”

The Riverdale Press Small Business Marketing Grant Program provides up to $500,000 in matching advertising dollars and can be used toward print or digital advertising in The Press or any other RCI property. Since the coronavirus crisis started in March, The Riverdale Press and other Herald Community Newspapers publications have had readership jump significantly, meaning that advertisers have the ability to reach even more people than before.

The program is open to all locally owned and operated businesses impacted by the coronavirus. Grants are available for between $300 and $15,000 of matching funds, and can be used in April, May and June of this year. Every dollar a grant recipient spends on advertising will be matched with a dollar of grant funding, up to the award amount, to be applied toward advertising costs.

Applications must be submitted through the online form at RiverdalePress.com/grant. Businesses will be notified about the status of their application within two business days of submitting it.