FBI Receives L.A. City Grant
Fashion Business Inc., a nonprofit organization founded to help up-and-coming designers and manufacturers, has landed a grant from the City of Los Angeles to help local apparel manufacturers create new jobs for low- to moderate-income workers.
The one-year, $100,000 grant, part of the Growth Business Component of the City’s Community Development Department, is funded by the federal Housing and Urban Development Department. It is targeted toward businesses located within Los Angeles’ Federal Empowerment Zone, which includes downtown and parts of South Central Los Angeles. A map with the Empowerment Zone’s boundaries is available at www.lacity.org.
FBI is currently looking for candidates for this program. To qualify, candidates should have an annual sales volume between $1 million and $5 million and be able to demonstrate growth potential. Companies accepted to the grant program will receive free consulting services from FBI for the remainder of the year.
“California predominantly comprises thousands of smaller creative-driven companies, who, for the most part, do not have the experience to understand what is necessary to stay in business,” said Frances Harder, founder, president and executive director of FBI. “The apparel industry is particularly perilous, as there are so many cash-flow problems. The FBI–Community Development Dept. (CDD) program is an amazing opportunity for smaller to mid-sized companies to receive free consulting hours from experts who have proven their worth and are now ready and willing to give back to an industry that has been good to them.”
Companies interested in being considered for the program should send a brief overview of their business and contact information to info@fashionbizinc.org. For more information, call (213) 892-1669.
