Relief on the way! KC helps vandalized businesses

By Brad Ziegler

On September 19, the Kansas City City Council unanimously passed Ordinance 240828 establishing the Kansas City Back to Business Grant Fund to provide financial relief and prevention measures to small businesses impacted by vandalism and property crimes in Kansas City. The council appropriated $325,000 to establish the fund from the unappropriated balance of the city’s Violence Prevention and Intervention Fund.

KC Biz Care, the city’s business advocacy and licensing office, will implement the grant funding process. KC Biz Care had already begun surveying local small businesses about the impact of vandalism and, in the days leading up to the fund’s creation, nearly 100 local businesses had already submitted grant interest forms through their office.

The Back to Business Grant Fund had been proposed by Mayor Quinton Lucas at a press conference on September 12 at the new City Barrel location in Waldo, which had been victimized by a break-in over the Labor Day weekend. The break-in was one of dozens of criminal acts against small retail businesses, restaurants and commercial buildings that had been reported throughout the city over the summer. Mayor Lucas said that “in talking to local small business owners, I have heard from more than a few of them that occasionally, they need a little help. When you have a break-in, and when you are already operating on thin margins, maybe a few thousand dollars doesn’t seem like a lot, but it is a lot to them.”

City Barrel owner Joe Giammanco also spoke at the press conference. He shared that it was “extremely upsetting to have something like this happen. Small business owners already wear so many hats and whenever things like this distract us, that is the hardest part. Programs like this will allow us to refocus on what we need to do. I am really grateful for this program and it helps us move forward.”

Nia Richardson, the managing director of the KC Biz Care office, also spoke at the press conference, and admitted “While I was excited to figure out how to build this program out, I am not happy that we have to do this, and I am not happy to hear about how our businesses are being vandalized. We don’t imagine this fund being the magic bullet that will knock this problem out, but we hope that it will alleviate some of the stresses of our small business owners and will help them get back on their feet.”

While grateful for the aid that the Back to Business Grant Fund provides, a number of small business owners have said that attention also needs to be paid to long term solutions, whether it be preventative efforts to address the socio-economic challenges in the community that they see as the root of the problem, or enhanced prosecution efforts by local law enforcement officials.

Sixth District City Councilman Jonathan Duncan agrees with the need to also take a long term view on how to prevent this type of criminal activity in the future. He said that “I am proud to have supported this initiative alongside the Mayor to provide some relief to small businesses who are suffering and show these businesses they are not alone. I am also looking forward to future opportunities to address the underlying causes of these crimes by investing in things like truly affordable housing, mental health programs, education, and job opportunities. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and while the Back to Business Fund provides important immediate relief to businesses, it cannot replace long term investment in our communities.”

KC Biz Care

The KC Biz Care office will begin to receive applications for the Back to Business Grant Fund in October. Grants of up to $3000 will be available to reimburse business owners for the cost of repairs to their property caused by vandalism and burglaries between the dates of July 1, 2024 and July 31, 2025. Grants of up to $5000 will also be available to business owners who are investing in security and crime prevention measures at their business, such as adding security systems, security lighting, gates or locks. Applicants must have a current business license in Kansas City, Missouri to participate in the grant program.

Interested business owners can go to the city’s website and submit a Back to Business Grant Interest Form to be kept up to date on the fund and the application process.