OGDENSBURG, New York (WWNY) – Local non-profits and small businesses in Ogdensburg are in line to get a shot of money. It’s help from the city’s allotment of Washington’s American Rescue Plan.
The Boys and Girls Club Expo fundraiser was canceled in 2020 and again this year. Hairdressers were shut down for 11 weeks. Now, Ogdensburg non-profits and small businesses will get a little help after all the harm done by the pandemic.
“We’ve been able to take a few hits financially, but everything helps,” said Tom Luckie, Boys and Girls Club executive director.
The city council is poised to approve $20,000 from American Rescue Plan funds for the Boys and Girls Club. Eight other non-profits should be getting from $4,000 to $10,000 each. The Veterans of Foreign Wars is in line for $10,000.
“If we’re not taking care of them first, who are we taking care of,” said Steven Fisher, Ogdensburg city council member.
At least a dozen small businesses should get grants ranging from $2,500 to $5,000. Krystin Horton is one of them. She remembers when the state shut down hairdressers for 11 weeks.
“I said, ‘Oh, my God. What am I going to do? How am I going to pay my bills? I’m self employed. I don’t get a regular paycheck,’” she said.
Horton says business still hasn’t returned to what it was. She says she can really use the $2,500 grant for things like booth rental, supplies, and insurance.
This isn’t the end of this program. There’s a sizable list of other non-profits and small businesses still in the application process.
This fiscal year the city has a little more than half a million dollars in American Rescue Plan funds to work with. The bill was President Biden’s first signature achievement and will disburse $1.9 trillion when all is done.
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