Thriving African-American Small Business

ELIGIBILITY  |  INELIGIBLE BUSINESSES  |  PROGRAM TIMELINE  |  WHAT YOU NEED  |  APPLICATION  |  QUESTIONS

For over 18 years, United Way of Southeast Louisiana has offered match funds to help entrepreneurs multiply their savings.  In an effort to decrease the racial wealth gap and address the many barriers that small Black-owned businesses have historically faced, UWSELA is excited to launch the Thriving African-American Small Business Initiative. 

The program requires business owners to save $334 monthly over 6 months until $2,000 is saved. The $2,000 in savings is then matched with $10,000 in grant money for a combined total of $12,000 for their business. 

Applications for the Thriving African-American Small Business (TAASB) opens April 3, 2023, at 9:00 a.m.

Deadline to submit an application with all required documents is 11:59 p.m. on April 17, 2023.

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

To be eligible for the program, business owners must meet the following requirements:

• Business must be at least 51% African-American owned.
• Operate within UWSELA’s service area of Jefferson, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, or Washington parishes.
• In business for three years or more. 
• Annual revenue of $200,000 or less. 
• For-profit microenterprise with five or fewer employees. (Note: The number of employees includes owner(s) and both part-time and full-time employees.)
• Member of one of the local chambers of commerce or must become a chamber member within the first 45 days of enrollment. 

INELIGIBLE BUSINESSES

The following types of businesses are NOT eligible for the program:

• Adult entertainment
• Gaming
• Liquor stores
• Tobacco/VAPE stores
• Passive real estate investments
• Non-profit organizations
• Franchise businesses
• Cannabis
• Gig workers (Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, Instacart drivers, etc.)

PROGRAM TIMELINE

WHAT YOU NEED TO APPLY

We strongly recommend gathering copies of the following documents before starting the application.

• Copy of Louisiana ID
• Copy of Employer Identification Number (EIN) – copies can be requested online or by calling 800-TAX-FORM
• Proof that the business is registered through the Louisiana Secretary of State (Business License, Certification, or Articles of Incorporation)
• Louisiana Certificate of Good Standing (CGS)
• Past three years of business tax returns, or explain any special circumstances to be considered for not completing business taxes and a Schedule C if you are a sole proprietor
• A Profit and Loss Statement for the current year (January 1st to today’s date)
• Business bank statements (checking and savings) for the 2 most recent months
• Please note: If you are accepted into the program, your Social Security Number (SSN)/Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) will be required to open a matched-savings bank account. 

QUESTIONS

For questions about this program, please contact Betty Brown at 504-827-6828 or TAASB@UnitedWaySELA.org.

APPLICATION

Instructions:

• This application will take approximately 60 minutes to complete.
• Please read the entire application before starting. You DO NOT have the option to save and continue.
• Gather all documents under section "What You Need To Apply" prior to starting. (see above)
• Accepted document file types for upload include: txt, pdf, doc, docx, ppt, pptx, xls, xlsx, png, jpg, tiff.
• A complete application includes all required documents.
• Incomplete applications will not be considered.
• The deadline to submit an application with all required documents is 11:59 p.m. on April 17, 2023.