Washington, DC – America’s LGBTQ+-owned restaurants and bars serving food will once again find a vital lifeline this year stemming from the ongoing partnership formed by the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC), the business voice of the LGBTQ+ community and certifying body for LGBTQ+-owned businesses nationwide, and Grubhub, a leading U.S. food-ordering and delivery marketplace.

Today, the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce opened applications in the Central Region for the NGLCC Community Impact Grant Program, a program made possible by a grant from the Grubhub Community Fund. The grants are expected to range from $10,000 to $25,000 and funds can be used for things like updating security and security protocols, updating/purchasing new equipment, community involvement, marketing and PR services, updating digital/e-commerce presence, purchasing product, staff training programs, employee pay and/or staff incentivized wages, COVID-19 recovery, and maintenance/updating of current infrastructure.

“We often say at NGLCC that if you can buy it, an LGBTQ+-owned business can supply it,” said NGLCC Co-Founder & President Justin Nelson. “That is especially true of the LGBTQ+-owned restaurants and establishments across America who kept our communities and first responders fed throughout the pandemic and have been so active in the recovery. We’re proud to again partner with Grubhub, with the support from the Grubhub Community Fund, in offering grants to support businesses throughout the nation this round with an even wider scope of opportunities for grant utilization to help them succeed.”

“NGLCC has been an incredible partner to Grubhub, and it was a no-brainer to renew this program which has supported so many LGBTQ+-owned businesses across the country,” said Dave Tovar, Grubhub’s senior vice president of Communications and Government Relations. “We’ve heard so many stories of how independent restaurants have used these grants to do amazing things for their business and in their communities, and I’m excited to see what new and exciting things come out of the next group of grant recipients.”

“The NGLCC Community Impact Grant Program will once again have a significant impact on helping our businesses in our community bounce back and grow,” said Jason Rae, President & CEO of the Wisconsin LGBT Chamber of Commerce. “In 2022, we were able to hand out 19 grants totaling $170,000 to businesses in Wisconsin. We are looking forward to working with our members and other businesses to apply for these crucial funds. These grants will have a tremendous impact on supporting our LGBTQ+ and allied food establishments in Wisconsin. We are so grateful to NGLCC and Grubhub for providing these grant opportunities to our local business members.”

Once again, under the innovative grant program, the NGLCC has set a goal to allocate 30 percent of the funds to businesses owned by people of color and transgender and gender expansive (TGX) individuals. Applications for the Central US will open on February 15, 2023, and close on March 8, 2023. Restaurants wishing to learn more about applying for grants should visit nglcc.org/ghgrant.

The NGLCC’s network of more than fifty Affiliate Chambers across America will once again help amplify this grant opportunity to support local restaurants. Those local chambers will again benefit from this initiative’s Affiliate Chamber Fund. In addition to supporting local efforts to share the grant opportunity, this fund has and will continue to enable any establishment that receives a grant that is not currently a member of an NGLCC local affiliate chamber to have one year of membership paid.