Main Street Recovery Small Business Technical Assistance Program

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Executive Summary

Main Street Recovery Small Business Technical Assistance Program is a nonprofit in Louisiana that helps small businesses recover from disasters and downturns. Advisors give free one-on-one help with insurance claims, disaster loans and grants, bookkeeping and cash flow, partner accountants and attorneys hold free clinics and small recovery grants are paid to vendors for approved expenses.

Small businesses are the first to fall when disaster or a downturn hits, and many close for good because owners do not know where to find help or cannot complete the forms in time. When a business closes, the owner loses savings, employees lose jobs and the neighborhood loses a place.

With this grant we will serve about 60 businesses in Year 1 in 2 neighborhoods. We do not give legal, tax or insurance advice and we do not guarantee any loan, grant or claim. We promise honest guidance, careful use of funds and respect for every owner.

Our Year 1 budget is about $210,000, growing to about $301,500 by Year 5 as we add sites, coaches and participants. Each year's budget is planned to balance, with a small surplus each year. We have 4 staff in Year 1 (an Executive Director, a Program Director and two part-time advisors) and 8 by Year 5.

We are asking the Gulf Main Street Foundation for $55,000 for the Program Director and the recovery grant pool. Our other income and startup support cover the rest. These numbers are estimates based on the assumptions listed at the end of this proposal, and we do not promise any result beyond what we describe.

Company Description

Main Street Recovery Small Business Technical Assistance Program is a nonprofit organization in Louisiana. We are a registered charity with a volunteer board of directors, a written conflict-of-interest policy and a yearly budget the board reviews.

Our mission. Main street businesses are the heart of our neighborhoods, and when disaster or a downturn hits them they should have a guide and a lifeline.

What we do.
- Provide free one-on-one technical assistance to small businesses recovering from disasters, closures and downturns.
- Help owners understand insurance claims, disaster loans, grants and tax relief.
- Offer workshops on bookkeeping, pricing, online sales and cash flow.
- Run accounting and legal clinics through partner professionals.
- Award small recovery grants for approved expenses, paid to vendors.
- Connect owners with lenders, landlords and buyers.

Our values. Respect for every participant, honesty with families and partners, safety first and a place for everyone who wants to belong.

What we do not do. We do not give legal, tax or insurance advice; partner professionals do. We do not guarantee any loan, grant or claim. Recovery grants are paid to vendors for approved expenses and never as cash. We do not promise any business will survive. We follow the rules of our partner sites and our insurer.

How we got here. A group of accountants, a banker and a chamber of commerce member began going door to door after a storm to help shop owners fill out forms and find money. Business owners kept calling. We kept simple records of who we helped and what happened. This proposal asks for support to move from door-to-door help after a storm to a steady program with paid, trained staff and the materials to match.

Problem & Opportunity

Small businesses are the first to fall when disaster or a downturn hits, and many close for good because owners do not know where to find help or cannot fill out the forms in time.

Cost. Lost sales, repairs and unpaid bills can use up a small business's savings in weeks, and paid advisors cost more than owners can pay.

Access. Disaster aid programs are complex, deadlines are short and owners are overwhelmed running their business and caring for their families.

Safety and trust. Owners want to know that advisors are trustworthy, since scammers also appear after disasters, and funders want accountability.

Missed benefits. When a small business closes, the owner loses savings, employees lose jobs and the neighborhood loses a place.

What we hear.
- A restaurant owner says she did not know she could file for help until the deadline had passed.
- A barber says insurance denied his claim and he did not know how to appeal.
- A banker says many owners do not have the paperwork lenders need.
- A shop owner says an advisor sat with him for three hours and he reopened the next month.

We do not claim that a program can solve every challenge. We believe that a trusted guide, clear steps and a small amount of money can keep a small business open.

Products & Services

Main Street Recovery Small Business Technical Assistance Program gives small business owners affected by disasters and downturns a safe, welcoming place to recover and stay open.

How the program works.
1. Outreach. Advisors visit neighborhoods and respond to calls from owners and chambers of commerce.
2. Assessment. An advisor reviews the business's damage, finances and options in a free session.
3. Plan. The advisor and owner write a recovery plan with steps and deadlines.
4. Applications. Advisors help owners complete insurance claims, disaster loan and grant applications.
5. Clinics. Partner accountants and attorneys hold free clinics.
6. Recovery grants. Owners with a plan may apply for a small grant for approved expenses, paid to vendors.
7. Follow-up. We check in at three, six and twelve months.

What a typical session looks like. Participants arrive and check in with a staff member, settle in together, work on the day's activity in small groups and finish with a short talk about what went well. Staff praise effort, correct mistakes kindly and make sure no one is left out.

Staff. Our advisors are trained business counselors who pass a background check, complete our training and are paid for their time.

Access and fairness. Programs are free. Services are free. We welcome every small business owner, and we offer help in English and Spanish.

Market Analysis

Who we serve. Owners of small businesses with fewer than 25 employees in our service area who have been affected by a disaster, a closure or a downturn. Eligibility is based on business size, location and impact, and no owner is turned away for the type of business.

How we estimate need. We cannot count every young person who could benefit, so we plan from what we can see. In our door-to-door visits we reached far more owners than we could help and kept a waiting list. The chamber of commerce told us that many more owners need help than the area offers. For Year 1 we plan to serve about 60 participants at 2 neighborhoods. By Year 5, with more staff and sites, we plan to serve about 180.

Where participants come from.
- Chambers of commerce and business associations.
- Banks and credit unions.
- Churches and neighborhood groups.
- Owners who tell another owner.

Who else benefits. Employees keep jobs. Landlords keep tenants. Neighborhoods keep their character and tax base.

What the numbers mean. Every number here is a shop door that opened again. We keep our early counts modest and honest so we can do the work well.

Competitive Landscape

What young people can find today, and how we are different.

1. Small business development centers. Strong and overwhelmed after disasters. We add capacity and a neighborhood presence.

2. Government disaster programs. Provide loans and information with complex forms. We help owners apply.

3. Banks. Lend to qualified businesses and cannot help everyone. We help owners prepare.

4. Private consultants. Effective and costly.

5. Insurance adjusters. Handle claims, not business planning. We help owners understand their options.

What makes us different.
- Free one-on-one advisors.
- Help with insurance, loans and grants.
- Accounting and legal clinics.
- Small grants paid to vendors.
- A neighborhood presence after a disaster.

Why this gap matters. Existing programs do good work, and most serve people who can already pay or who live close to them. The people we serve are the ones left over: they live in the wrong neighborhood, have the wrong schedule or have no one to ask. We are built to reach them.

We have spoken with chambers of commerce, banks and small business development centers to make sure we are filling a gap and not duplicating services. Their letters of support are in the attachments.

Marketing & Sales Strategy

How young people and partners will find us.

Reaching young people.
- Chambers and associations. We will give leaders a short referral form and a named contact.
- Banks and credit unions. We will share information and train staff.
- Neighborhoods. Advisors will visit shops and attend business meetings.
- Local media. We will share clear steps and deadlines.
- Word of mouth. Owners tell owners.
- A simple website and a phone line with a text option.

Reaching staff and sponsors.
- Recruit advisors through accounting firms, banks, retired owners and small business centers.
- Offer an orientation, a background check and training in safety, privacy and respectful practice.
- Give partners a short report each quarter with counts of participants and what they said.

How we decide who joins. We use a simple sign-up form and enroll participants in the order received, with priority for those with the greatest need and for people new to the program. We keep a waiting list when the program is full.

What we watch. Sign-ups, attendance, businesses helped, applications completed and how many participants return for a second season.

Operations Plan

How the program will be carried out.

Timeline for Year 1:
- Months 1 and 2 (July and August): Hire the staff, buy equipment and materials, finalize the waiver, consent form and privacy policy with our attorney and sign site agreements.
- Month 3 (September): Open the helpline and begin neighborhood outreach.
- Months 4 to 10: Provide advising, clinics, workshops and grants throughout the year.
- Months 11 and 12: Survey owners and partners, report to funders and plan Year 2.

Space. Advisors meet owners at their shops, at chambers and at a small office.

Safety and privacy.
- Advisors never handle an owner's money and give owners a written summary of every meeting.
- Grants are paid to vendors and reviewed by two people.
- Every staff member and volunteer passes a background check and completes safety training.
- Staff work in pairs or in view of others whenever participants are minors or in a vulnerable situation.
- We keep an emergency plan at every site, and participants complete an emergency contact form.
- We keep records private, share them only with a participant's permission or as the law requires and follow a written policy.

Equipment. We buy about $6,000 of equipment once at the start: laptops and a secure client system ($3,000), outreach tablets and portable printers ($1,500), workshop projector and sound ($1,500). Later years replace or add a few items.

Staffing. In Year 1 I serve as Executive Director. The Program Director, paid $46,000 a year, manages advisors, clinics and grants. Two part-time advisors, each paid $24,000 a year, work with owners. We add advisors as we add neighborhoods.

Management & Organization

Linda Boudreaux, Executive Director. I lead the organization, report to the board and am responsible for budgets, partnerships and reporting. I came to this work as an accountant who helped neighbors reopen after a storm. I will complete the training we require of our advisors so I understand the program from the inside. (Replace this paragraph with your own background.)

Staff. The Program Director manages advisors, clinics and grants, and part-time advisors work with owners. Each passes a background check. These positions are part of our grant request.

Board of directors. Our volunteer board includes a business owner, an accountant, a banker who serves as treasurer, an attorney, a chamber of commerce leader and an insurance agent. The board meets every other month, approves our budget and reviews our safety plan. No board member is paid, and members with a conflict of interest step out of related decisions.

Advisory partners. A small business advisor, a disaster recovery specialist and a community lender give guidance twice a year.

Staffing and pay in this plan: Executive Director, paid $52,000 a year; program Director, paid $46,000 a year; business Advisor (part-time), paid $24,000 a year.

Milestones Narrative

Our goals, how we will measure them and when we plan to reach them.

Year 1 outcomes (July 2027 through June 2028):
- Serve about 60 participants at 2 neighborhoods.
- Run at least two full seasons and a summer session.
- Have at least 85 percent of participants attend most sessions.
- Have at least 80 percent of participants return for a second season.
- Receive positive feedback from at least 90 percent of families who answer our short survey.

What we count and how.
- Participants enrolled, sessions and games attended, from our records.
- Skills learned and goals met, from the coach's checklist.
- Equipment issued and returned, from our log.
- Participant and family feedback, from a short, confidential form.
We report what we find, including what did not work, and use it to improve.

Growth over five years.
- Year 2: About 90 participants at 2 neighborhoods.
- Year 3: About 120 participants at 3 neighborhoods.
- Year 4: About 150 participants at 3 neighborhoods.
- Year 5: About 180 participants at 4 neighborhoods.

Learning along the way. At the end of each quarter, the director and the board review the numbers and decide whether we are on track. If we are behind, we will adjust our outreach, our sites or our schedule before asking for more money.

After the grant. By Year 5, grants make up about 56 percent of our budget, down from about 68 percent in Year 1, as partners and donors give more. We will keep building those relationships every year.

Funding Request

What we are asking for, and how the money will be used. Our request: $55,000 from the Gulf Main Street Foundation for the Program Director and the recovery grant pool, for July 2027 through June 2028.

The request is spread across these budget lines:
- Personnel: Program Director salary, $46,000.
- Other: Recovery grant pool paid to vendors, $9,000.

Other money in the program. This request is about 39% of our Year 1 grant income. Other grants and the income lines below pay for everything it does not cover.

Year 1 budget: about $210,000, planned to balance with a small surplus (about $8,800 after the yearly wear on equipment). Year 1 money coming in: Grant Revenue $142,000; state Economic Development Funding $40,000; bank Partners $20,000; individual Donors $8,000. Year 1 costs: executive Director $52,000; program Director $46,000; business Advisor (part-time) $24,000; recovery Grant Pool about $24,000; accounting and Legal Clinics about $8,000; marketing and Online Tools about $6,000; workshops about $4,000; insurance Navigation Resources about $3,000; administration and Insurance about $9,000; about $2,800 a year for the wear on equipment.

One-time startup costs. Startup costs of $14,500 are paid once from startup money, not from the yearly budget: $3,000 for laptops and a secure client system; $1,500 for outreach tablets and portable printers; $1,500 for workshop projector and sound; $2,500 for attorney review of the client agreement, grant policy and privacy policy; $1,800 for banners, flyers and a simple website; $1,700 for advisor training and background checks; $2,500 for first insurance payment.

How we got our startup number. The Funding Need Calculator in this plan adds the startup costs ($14,500), the cash the program uses before it balances (about $0) and a cash cushion of about $50,000, which is about three months of Year 1 costs. In all, that comes to $64,500. We start with $6,000 from our founding board and $61,000 in startup support from a community foundation and a bank, $67,000 in all, which covers that amount with room to spare.

The next five years. Our budget grows from about $210,000 in Year 1 to about $301,500 in Year 5. Grants are planned at $142,000, $154,500, $142,500, $155,500 and $169,500 in Years 1 to 5. Other income grows: state Economic Development Funding from $40,000 to $64,000; bank Partners from $20,000 to $44,000; individual Donors from $8,000 to $24,000. Our surplus is planned at about $8,800 in Year 1, about $10,300 in Year 2, about $11,000 in Year 3, about $12,600 in Year 4 and about $14,900 in Year 5. We grow from 2 neighborhoods to 4 by Year 5, adding a part-time coach for each new site.

Savings. We plan to keep several months of costs in savings. The lowest year-end balance in the plan is about $62,600, at the end of Year 1. Some grant payments and partner payments arrive after we bill, so we plan for about $8,400 owed to us at the end of Year 1.

Cost per business owner. In Year 1, our total costs are about $3,353 per business owner served, which includes setting up the program. By Year 5, with more business owner served and a trained team in place, that falls to about $1,592 per business owner.

After the grant. State economic development funding, corporate sponsors and individual donors grow every year, so grants become a smaller share of our budget. Participants and families share their stories, and businesses can sponsor a team or a season by name. We will look for partnerships with schools and the city that want a safe, free small business assistance option for every child.

Risks and how we will handle them:
- An injury. Certified coaches, proper equipment, groups matched by age and skill, a written emergency plan and insurance.
- A site is no longer available. We keep agreements with more than one site and a plan for bad weather.
- A coach leaves. We keep a list of trained backup coaches and share lesson plans.
- Low attendance. We adjust sites, times and rides based on family feedback.
- A privacy problem. We follow a written policy, use secure systems and train every staff member and volunteer.
- A grant ends. We keep savings and grow partner and donor support each year.

If you are just starting. A new organization can begin before it has its own 501(c)(3) status through a fiscal sponsor: an established nonprofit that receives grants for you and passes them to your program, usually for a fee (commonly around 5% to 10% of the grant, sometimes more; ask before you agree). Another way is to start smaller: one neighborhood, a handful of business owners and a small team, tracked carefully. Strong results from a small start make larger grants easier to win.

Appendix Notes

Documents to attach with this proposal:

- Your IRS 501(c)(3) determination letter, or your fiscal sponsor agreement.
- Your most recent financial statements and your current year budget.
- A list of your board members and what each one does.
- Signed letters of support from partner schools, agencies and sites.
- Your site agreements and your insurance certificate.
- Your consent, waiver and privacy policy.
- Your safety plan and background check policy.
- Your program outline and schedule.
- Quotes for equipment and materials.
- Resumes for your Executive Director and key staff.
If you don't have any of this yet, no worries - let's continue.

The assumptions behind our numbers (change them in the Financials section to match your own):
- Grant Revenue: $142,000 in Year 1, growing to $169,500 in Year 5.
- State Economic Development Funding: $40,000 in Year 1, growing to $64,000 in Year 5.
- Bank Partners: $20,000 in Year 1, growing to $44,000 in Year 5.
- Individual Donors: $8,000 in Year 1, growing to $24,000 in Year 5.
- Pay (a full year, per person, including payroll taxes and workers' compensation): executive Director $52,000; program Director $46,000; business Advisor (part-time) $24,000.
- Other yearly costs in Year 1: recovery Grant Pool $24,000; accounting and Legal Clinics $8,000; marketing and Online Tools $6,000; workshops $4,000; insurance Navigation Resources $3,000; administration and Insurance $9,000. These grow between 4% and 6% a year.
- Equipment: $6,000 at the start, then $1,500 to $2,500 a year.
- Startup costs: $14,500, paid once from $67,000 in startup money.
- Participants served: about 60 in Year 1, growing to about 180 in Year 5. Sites: 2 in Year 1, growing to 4 by Year 5. Help is available year-round, with extra outreach after disasters.
- About 4% of each year's income is still owed to us at year end.
- Tax: none, as a nonprofit.
- Every dollar amount is an estimate. Replace them with your own quotes and real budget.

Startup Costs