Cross River Teams Up with Brooklyn Chamber Again to Distribute Grants to Further Support Women and Minority Owned Businesses

Grants are part of Small Business Grant Program created by the organizations, a $220,000 fund in 2022 to provide support to local businesses in need

Recipients include the site of an arson attack, an orchestra dedicated to community enrichment, and an electronics store providing the community with repair services

Cross River Bank (Cross River), a technology infrastructure provider that offers embedded financial solutions, today announced that along with the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, it has distributed $1,000-$5,000 grants to support the revitalization and recovery of local small businesses who have experienced post-pandemic challenges.

"Partnering with the Chamber has provided Cross River the opportunity to bring truly impactful philanthropy to the Brooklyn community and directly effectuate the expansion of financial inclusion among diverse communities," said Eugene Shvartsman, Head of Government Affairs at Cross River and Brooklyn Alliance Capital Board Member. "We are proud of the difference these funds make in the survival of these businesses and look forward to providing many more minority and women-owned small businesses with the financial support they need and deserve."

The grants are part of the Small Business Grant Program, a collaboration between Cross River and the Chamber, that provides financial support to minority and women-owned businesses. The program is funded by Cross River and applications are processed through the Chamber's economic development arm, Brooklyn Alliance Capital.

"The Brooklyn Chamber's partnership with Cross River on the small business grant program is truly one of the most impactful initiatives we have undertaken to help our businesses recover," said Randy Peers, President and CEO of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce. "These grants go to small businesses that couldn't access other means of support, the majority of which are minority or women-owned."

On November 14^th, representatives from Cross River were joined by Stevenson Joseph, Director of the Brooklyn Alliance Capital Lending Program, Matt Caserta, VP of Small Business Support at the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, and Luc Saint-Preux, Director of Neighborhood Outreach at the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce for the grant distribution. Made in advance of Small Business Saturday, the most recent round of funding illustrates Cross River's commitment to supporting small businesses and expanding financial inclusion.

"The Brooklyn Chamber Orchestra is committed bringing music to this generation of classical music lovers and the development of the next," said Phil Nuzzo, Artistic Director of the Brooklyn Chamber Orchestra. "Partnering with Cross River and the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce helps us to further our children's programming to bring classical music to future generations in underserved communities."

Funds of $5,000 were distributed to the Brooklyn Chamber Orchestra in Brooklyn Heights, an organization created to enrich and inspire through music, community engagement and education, and Rash nightclub in Bushwick, a LGBTQ+-friendly establishment that was the site of an arson attack only months after opening, while patrons were inside. Top Tech Electronics in Ridgewood Heights, a store for purchasing or repairing electronic devices, received a $1,000 grant as part of an effort to serve more businesses located on Knickerbocker Ave.

"As a business that was only 6 months old when we had to shut our doors after a targeted arson attack, we've spent the rest of the year scrambling to find financing to reopen," said Jake Sillen Owner of Rash. "Many of the traditional channels of grants and loans in the city weren't available to us because we didn't have years of tax returns to refer to. The money will go towards replacing our service equipment that was damaged in the fire. As a lifelong resident of NYC and first-time business owner, I'm so grateful to groups like Cross River who are providing capital to entrepreneurs in tough situations like ours."

The Program, started in December 2021, has issued grants to 26 businesses in the Brooklyn Borough to date. To learn more or get involved, please visit www.crossriver.com.

About Cross River
Cross River provides technology infrastructure powering the future of financial services. Leveraging its proprietary real-time banking core, Cross River delivers innovative and scalable embedded payments, cards, lending and crypto solutions to millions of consumers and businesses. Cross River is backed by leading investors and serves the world's most essential fintech and technology companies. Together with its partners, Cross River is reshaping global finance and financial inclusion. Member FDIC. Find out more at www.crossriver.com.

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