By Dawn Kent | dkent@al.com
Concord was one of the hardest-hit communities in the Birmingham area during the April 27, 2011, tornado outbreak. (Joe Songer/jsonger@al.com) (Birmingham News file)
The U.S. Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration today announced a $400,000 grant to help Birmingham area businesses hurt in the April 2011 tornadoes.
The grant will go to Operation Hope to establish the Alabama Small Business Disaster Recovery Program.
The storms reduced Alabama's GDP by as much as $1.3 billion and resulted in the loss of between 5,600 and 13,200 jobs statewide, according to estimates from the University of Alabama.
The Alabama Small Business Disaster Recovery Program is expected to offer guidance to more than 1,000 business owners in the six-county area surrounding Birmingham over the next two years. Services will include assistance with business plans, marketing plans, banking, accounting, loans and improving credit scores.
The project is part of a $200 million appropriation made by Congress to EDA to help communities that received a major disaster designation in fiscal year 2011 with long-term economic recovery and infrastructure support.