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As Small Businesses Begin Slow Recovery from COVID-19, National Association Awards $12k in Growth Grants

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Monday, June 14, 2021
CONTACT:  Kristofer Eisenla, LUNA+EISENLA media
kristofer@lunaeisenlamedia.com | 202-670-5747 (mobile)

National Association for the Self-Employed Provides Support to Florida, Texas & New York Businesses for Recovery and Growth

DALLAS, TX – With the small business community beginning the slow recovery from the devastating COVID pandemic, the National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE), the nation’s leading advocate and resource for the self-employed and micro-business community, announced today $12,000 in Growth Grants to three local Florida, Texas and New York businesses for the first quarter of 2021.  Today’s announcement also includes a  partnership with DELL Small Business who generously has sponsored $4,000 for the January Growth Grant award.

This year NASE will award $48,000 total in grants to twelve small businesses to support their growth and expansion of business operations and help support their emergence from the COVID pandemic.

“Our nation’s small business community, including self-employed and micro-businesses, helps fuel the American economic engine.  As our community begins to heal from the COVID-19 pandemic, we are proud to do our part to help the American small business community get to the other side of this crisis,” said John Hearrell, Vice President of Membership and Affiliate Programs.  “From each side of Main Street to every corner of America, small businesses are delivering unique goods and services to their customers. Since 1989, our mission is built on the cornerstone of supporting these businesses to grow and thrive.  It’s an honor to make an investment of $4,000 in each of these Growth Grant recipients, bringing our total grant awards to date to over $1,000,000 since the program’s inception.”

The recipients of the first quarter 2021 NASE Growth Grants are:

• Be Strong Therapy, located in Tallahassee, Florida, owned by NASE member Amber Swords, was awarded an NASE Growth Grant in March 2021. Swords is the owner of Be Strong Therapy, a therapeutic services company that works with patients through the entire cancer process helping to regain strength, range of motion, balance, and maintain health into recovery.
• Baby Back Shak, located in Dallas, Texas, owned by NASE member Clarence Cohens, was awarded an NASE Growth Grant in February 2021. Cohens is the owner of Baby Back Shak, a restaurant that not only takes a bit from the past and the present, but also merges the two king cities of barbeque, Memphis and Dallas, to provide customers with the perfect combination of flavors.

The January 2021 Growth Grant was sponsored by DELL Small Business.

• Bottomland Farm, located in Berkshire, New York, owned by NASE Rebecca Rimmel, was awarded an NASE Growth Grant in January 2021. Rebecca is the owner of Bottomland Farm, a farm committed to raising the highest quality meats, eggs, fruits and vegetables.

For nearly 20 years, NASE’s focus has been on finding the most effective way to bolster success for small business and self-employed members in communities across the country.  NASE has awarded over $1,000,000 since the program’s inception and continue to see significant return on our investments in the growth of member-businesses helping to fuel their local economies.

NASE’s Growth Grant program is intended for businesses planning to take the next step in their venture.  It provides available capital for small businesses and sole proprietors to be able to hire and train additional employees, market their business in new and existing ways or invest in new equipment or software.

Applications are considered on a rolling basis throughout the year and winning small businesses will be awarded $4,000 grants monthly throughout 2021.  Visit the Growth Grant page for more information.

NASE members also enjoy a comprehensive list of benefits designed to help small business owners and sole proprietors start and grow their business.  A complete listing of benefits available to NASE members is available, here.  NASE members are offered a host of resources designed to help support entrepreneurs and small employers including access to professional “Ask the Experts” services in tax, health care and marketing, a navigational assistant health care portal, scholarships and grants, discounts on shipping rates and office supplies, and affordable email marketing systems and webhosting services. NASE’s newest member benefits continue the tradition of providing real-world, bottom-line assistance to small business owners.  To become a member of NASE, apply online here.

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The National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE) is the nation's leading advocate and resource for the self-employed and micro-businesses, offering a broad range of benefits to help entrepreneurs succeed and to drive the continued growth of this vital segment of the American economy.

The NASE Next Biz Thing helps identify and connect our nation’s smallest businesses. Need small business help? Check out NASE’s Ask the Experts for advice or the NASE Minute for small business support.

The NASE is a 501(c) (6) nonprofit organization and provides big-business advantages to hundreds of thousands of micro-businesses across the United States. For more information, visit the association's website at NASE.org