St. Petersburg Downtown Partnership Donates to Local Higher Education & Businesses

The St. Petersburg Downtown Partnership has stepped up to donate a total of $40,000 to local higher education institutions and programs supporting local businesses during COVID-19. 

The Partnership has partnered with Kyle Taylor at the Penny Hoarder and other local tech companies to raise $75,000 for Phase 2 of the Fighting Chance Fund – an emergency grant for St. Pete’s businesses negatively impacted by COVID-19 closures.  This City program provides grants (not loans) in the form of $5,000 to impacted eligible businesses and $500 to impacted eligible individuals. You can read more about this partnership in the St. Pete Catalyst by clicking here.  

In support of our local higher education institutions, we are also donating to the USF St. Petersburg scholarship fund called Stay AFLOAT and the St. Petersburg College Student Emergency Fund. Both funds are designed to make college more accessible by alleviating some of the financial hardships that can result from unforeseen circumstances such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Finally, we are donating to One Community’s InThisTogether Initiative, which is creating micro-grant programs that offer layered support to business sectors hardest hit by COVID. This includes 4StPeteCreatives that support entrepreneurs in the “creative” space with microgrants and covering their costs of evolving to a virtual business mode and StrongerAfterTheStorm that will support diverse businesses with microgrants and other supports.

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