When Hurricane Helene struck Florida, Kenneth Kitchen, a small business owner in Tampa, was prepared—thanks to the U.S. Chamber Foundation’s Small Business Readiness for Resiliency (R4R) program.
“The R4R emergency checklist was instrumental,” he shared. "It helped avoid costly replacements of essential tools and equipment by ensuring they were secured before the disaster. The program not only provided financial relief but also gave us the tools and confidence to navigate this challenging period successfully.”
The reality: Nearly one in four small businesses never reopen after a major disaster, yet only 26% have a disaster plan in place. In partnership with FedEx, we launched the R4R program to help small businesses prepare for and recover from disasters through education, resources, and access to emergency grant funding.
How it works: Business owners complete a simple preparedness checklist to become eligible for a $5,000 grant if their area is affected by a disaster.
The impact: “We recovered faster because we were able to communicate better with our team and community, while getting the business prepared to protect us and our team from the hurricanes,” shared Dori Thomsen, owner
of Soluna Yoga Spa in Jacksonville, Florida. “It helped us get back on our feet and provide our team a better living wage to make up for the closed days and loss of customers.”
As natural disasters increase in frequency and intensity, taking proactive measures to develop preparedness and recovery solutions can determine whether a small business stays open or closes forever after a disaster strikes.
The U.S. Chamber Foundation and FedEx created the Small Business Readiness for Resiliency (R4R) Program, which empowers small business owners to invest in readiness and resilience as essential business practices. With additional funding from Allstate, American Express, and Fiserv, this program guides interested small businesses in how to prepare for a disaster through a simple checklist and then offers immediate relief funding of $5,000 for those prepared businesses after a federal disaster declaration is made in their region.
Since the program began in June 2022, more than 3,600 small business owners have completed the preparedness checklist to register with R4R, and 102 grants have been distributed for 32 natural disasters. We’re getting grants into the hands of small business owners more quickly after a disaster happens—reducing the average distribution time by 46% (50 days in 2022 vs. 27 days in 2024). While federal resources can take weeks to months to arrive, shortening our R4R grant distribution timeframe allows us to meet the needs of small businesses more quickly, allowing communities to recover faster.
CLICK HERE FOR IMPACT REPORT!