Tuesday was the first day of Black History Month in 2022, and a new grant program for small, for-profit Black-owned businesses in Fort Wayne is now available.
The Dyer Family Foundation is partnering with several local organizations to offer these grants to Fort Wayne Black-owned businesses in the coming months.
Iric Headley is the program manager for the City of Fort Wayne, while also serving as the director of Fort Wayne UNITED. He says there are very few strings attached to the grant for businesses that express interest.
“We just want to make sure the business is in good standing with the state. So as long a Black-owned business can show that they’re Black-owned, the financial requirements are that you can’t have a million dollars in revenue, the rest of the application is going to be a pretty easy process," Headley said.
Jack and Tammy Dyer were on hand Tuesday morning at the Clyde Theater to reveal the grant.
Tammy Dyer says Fort Wayne has been very good to them, and they see the grant as an opportunity to offer help where they can.
“I think we’ve always felt it was important to serve all people; I think the greater wellbeing for the whole is as important as our personal wellbeing," Tammy Dyer said. "And when we realized we had some money that we set aside for investments that we didn’t need anymore, we knew that we wanted it to go toward Black business owners.”
The Dyers will serve on the committee that helps select the businesses that receive grant funding.
Applications are open, and will be accepted until Tuesday, March 15. Recipients of the grant will be notified one month later on April 15, and funds are expected to be issued shortly after, on April 29.
More information can be found at https://www.dyerfamilyfoundation.com/
