Today, Madison Park Development Corporation (MPDC) & Life Science Cares (LSC) launch The Minority/Women-Owned Business Enterprises (MWBE) Contractors Relief Fund, an initiative to offer emergency financial assistance for Minority and Women-Owned Contractors in Greater Boston. As a community development corporation, MPDC comprehends the economic hardships of small contractors during COVID-19. Many MWBE contractors have found it challenging to access grants, funds, and unemployment assistance currently being offered by state and federal agencies.
Made possible by a grant from Life Science Cares and spearheaded by Katrina Conrad, MPDC’s Workforce Diversity Project Manager, the MWBE Contractor Relief Fund offers a one-time relief grant of up to $2,500 to qualified MWBE contractors who have been affected by COVID-19. The fund is open to Greater Boston-based MWBE contractors that currently have a city of Boston monitored project, employ ten or less, and did not qualify for the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program.
Leslie Reid, MPDC’s Chief Executive Officer, said of the fund’s creation, “MPDC has long been committed to fostering and uplifting the talent pipeline of local minority labor and contractors. The MWBE Contractor Relief Fund affirms this commitment by providing access to dedicated resources that allow contractors to return to work safely. We are grateful for Life Science Cares’ investment in this unique opportunity and look forward to supporting our vibrant Boston MWBE contractor community.”
Upon learning about the fund, Ronnette Taylor, Owner of FireCode Design, reflected, “Personal protective equipment is so expensive. For six technicians, I need 30 sets of PPE, including disinfectants, masks, shields, and gloves. That’s 140 gallons of disinfectant spray a week! Madison Park Development Corporation understands these costs, and more importantly, MPDC understands the struggle of local Black Women contractors during this crisis.”
“The life science industry relies on the talented work of contractors and subcontractors to build and renovate the buildings in which we discover and produce treatments and cures for patients,” said Sarah MacDonald, Executive Director of Life Science Cares. “We are proud to support an effort to ensure minority and women-owned contractors are able to get back to work as quickly as their peers.”
MPDC is also currently seeking additional contributors to the MWBE Contractor Relief Fund. Interested individuals or companies should visit Madison Park Development Corporation’s website at http://www.madison-park.org/make-an-impact/give/ or contact MPDC’s Resource Development Manager Kay Mathew at [email protected]/617.849.6335 to learn more about giving to MPDC.
Those interested in applying for the fund can access the application at https://bit.ly/MWBEContractorsReliefFund or contact Katrina Conrad at [email protected] / 617.849.6226 for more information.