CFA Grants $507k for Small Business Relief

July 02, 2021

The Community Foundation of Abilene granted around $507,000 to small Abilene businesses financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Abilene small businesses bore the brunt of crisis, and they proved to be resilient. To help provide relief, CFA partnered with the City of Abilene to administer grants to small businesses that took a financial hit in 2020. The City received funding and guidelines from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and CFA stepped in to manage the grantmaking process.

“We’ve been working so hard,” said Don Luis Cafe Owner Jorge Luis, who received a grant. “To get this grant is like a light at the end of the tunnel! We don’t have to worry about how we’re going to pay people in the next two months…To have that, it’s just amazing. It takes some of the pressure off yourself.”

CFA began with around $507,000 to businesses like Don Luis Cafe, 5 Star Coatings, and more than a dozen others.

"It gave us this cushion where I can hire someone...so that we can order the supplies that we put off for so many months," said 5 Star Coatings Co-Owner Traci Fulgham.