July 25, 2022 (Peoria, IL) The city of Peoria’s Economic Development Department launched the RISE (Recovery, Income, Startup, Expansion) program on May 10 to provide financial relief to businesses and start-ups impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Consideration was first given to businesses that applied under the “Recovery” category. The funding came from the American Rescue Plan Act.
Staff from the Economic Development Department will notify grant recipients this week. Thirty-six businesses in all five districts will be awarded RISE grants totaling over $400,000. Businesses range from hospitality/restaurant to technology. Seventy percent of the qualifying businesses are minority-owned, woman-owned, and/or veteran-owned. A full list of recipients may be found on the Grow Peoria website.
“Our small businesses continue to face significant stresses as they recover from the pandemic due to supply chain interruptions, workforce instability, and increased costs to operate. Our intention of the RISE grant is to provide meaningful assistance to business owners”, stated Kimberly Richardson, Assistant City Manager.
The Economic Development Department received over 300 applications during the submission period. Due to the overwhelming response, City staff will return to the City Council to request additional funding from the American Rescue Plan Act to fulfill existing submissions in the “Income”, “Startup”, and “Expansion” categories.
Business owners may direct any questions to Uriah Kilgallin in the Economic Development Department at economicdevelopment@peoriagov.org or 309-494-8640