As part of our ongoing commitment to empower local economies and support small businesses, DoorDash today announced the Restaurant Disaster Relief Fund is now live for the 2023 funding year. In partnership with Hello Alice and the Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN), DoorDash will provide 100 grants of $10,000 USD to restaurants impacted by state- or federally- declared natural disasters.
In October 2021, we seeded our Restaurant Disaster Relief Fund with $1 million to help small businesses in the United States and Puerto Rico recover from natural disasters. To date, we have provided 100 grants to restaurants in 27 U.S. states across 4 funding rounds – more than half of recipient businesses are owned by women, and more than three-quarters are owned by people of color. Our grant recipients use the funding for a variety of important expenses including payroll for existing employees, developing a product or service, sourcing or expanding inventory, marketing and advertising, and general operating expenses like utilities or rent.
Today, we’re proud to renew and build upon this commitment for 2023, providing 100 more $10,000 grants and this year expanding eligibility to include restaurants based in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, in partnership with GEN.
“These grants are about helping local restaurants manage the unexpected costs from disasters, and keep their doors open for years to come,” said Sueli Shaw, Director of Social Impact at DoorDash. “We’re honored to have supported many restaurants since launching the fund in 2021, and proud to expand that impact by creating new grant opportunities for restaurants in international DoorDash markets.”
In order to apply for relief, restaurants must have between one and three brick & mortar locations, fewer than 50 employees per location, have been open for at least 6 months, and have been impacted by an eligible state or federally-declared natural disaster. The 2023 funding cycles will take place across four rounds, with applications for Canada, Australia and New Zealand starting in July:
First Round – May 1 – June 30, 2023
Second Round – July 5 – September 29, 2023
Third Round – October 2 – December 31, 2023
Fourth Round – January 2 – March 29, 2024
Applications for restaurants in the United States and Puerto Rico are accepted now and on a rolling basis, with the first round of funding determined after June 30, 2023. To learn more and apply, visit https://merchants.doordash.com/en-us/about/disaster-relief-fund
