“Dear PoPville,
For many years before 2020, my small DC-based retail business happily required requests from parents of local school children to make donations to auctions and fundraisers at their school / powerhouse. The support of our neighbors helped make our business sustainable.
I recently received an application for a donation from the parents of a Capitol Hill neighborhood public school with the resources and I want to let readers know that these requests are probably really difficult for companies that have managed to maintain. be in this year.
It hurts me to say I can’t avoid it, but it’s also very awkward for me to have to explain the reasons why.
We had to take out a government PPP loan to be able to hire our employees last summer and we are still not sure if they will be forgiven. We were lucky enough to get a financial disaster loan from the SBA, which we hope will allow us to weather the ongoing storm, as the owners of the 30-year debt commitment are personally stuck even if the business fails. We are now praying for another round of PPP to avoid further layoffs.
I am grateful for the financial support my company has received over the past year, but I have an obligation to make responsible use of it. Parents, please realize that if your school’s fundraiser was such a big “business development opportunity” that you shouldn’t ask, I would line up to give you my money. I used to make donations because we had the means and it’s a good thing to do.
I look forward to returning to the community as soon as we can, but it’s still not a good time for many small DC businesses.
Yours faithfully,
One of your local retail store owners “