Over the past several months, the City has worked to develop a grant program to meet the needs of our diverse small business community - an important foundation of Alexandria’s continued economic development.  A lawsuit challenging the BIPOC small business grant program was filed in federal court in January.

Upon review of the lawsuit and the program, we have decided we will not launch the program as currently proposed. Instead, we will review options to use this funding to meet the needs of our diverse small business community in a more comprehensive and sustainable way, and look forward to launching a program that achieves that goal.  

Our City remains committed to serving all Alexandrians and focused on our responsibility to find equitable solutions to address the challenges they face. More details will become available on the new program over the coming months.