(September 13, 2005) To help speed the recovery of small businesses devastated by Hurricane Katrina, the California Chamber of Commerce is supporting a disaster relief fund set up by its counterpart in Louisiana.

The Chamber has sent a $25,000 contribution, and has received additional commitments from other statewide business associations with the solicitation assistance of the California Business Properties Association.

The Chamber is urging California businesses to also consider tax-deductible donations to the Small Business Disaster Relief Fund set up by the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry (LABI) with the assistance of the Baton Rouge Area Foundation.

“We are confident that this money will find its way to assist small business relief recovery efforts in Louisiana and encourage other California companies to respond,” said Chamber President Allan Zaremberg. “The recovery of small businesses is essential to restoring economic vitality to the region hit by Hurricane Katrina.”

Relief Fund
The Small Business Disaster Relief Fund will provide grants to help small businesses damaged by Hurricane Katrina get back into business as soon as possible. The grants will serve as “gap funding” to cover expenses not covered by insurance in order to bring as many enterprises as possible back on line quickly.

Contributions to the Small Business Disaster Relief Fund are tax deductible, can be made by check and mailed to:

Small Business Disaster Relief Fund/BRAF
420 N. 4th Street
Baton Rouge, LA 70802

Contributions also can be made through LABI’s website, www.labi.org.

LABI reports that the contributions, dollar for dollar, will go directly to small businesses that need the funds to recover. All applications will be handled anonymously to ensure fairness in the grant selection process. Volunteers from the CPA Society, local Bar Association, and Independent Insurance Agents association will be recruited to screen the applications.

As an alternative, readers wishing to provide support to business victims of Hurricane Katrina can send a tax-deductible donation to the California Chamber’s affiliate, the California Foundation for Commerce and Education (CFCE), P.O. Box 1736, Sacramento, CA 95812-1736. Please note on the check that it is for Hurricane Katrina relief. One hundred percent of the contributions will go for disaster relief to the businesses of the Gulf Coast.

Mississippi
Although it has established no separate fund dedicated to business relief from Hurricane Katrina, the Mississippi Economic Council is encouraging support be provided through the Mississippi Hurricane Relief Fund established by Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour. Former Netscape chief executive officer Jim Barksdale is involved in administering the fund. More information is available at the council’s website at www.msmec.com.

Katrina’s long-term impact on the national economy is unclear, but estimates of the cost of Katrina continue to mount, with early assessments that the damage will be double that caused by Hurricane Andrew in 1992.

General donations to help Hurricane Katrina victims are being accepted by the Red Cross at www.redcross.org and the Salvation Army, www.salvationarmyusa.org.