Dowd Bennett Gives More Than $150,000 to Minority Owned Businesses as Part of Covid Relief Effort

Dowd Bennett has contributed more than $150,000 to a Covid relief effort through Invest STL, a neighborhood development initiative sponsored by the St. Louis Community Foundation.  The goal of these funds, which were donated in the Spring as the metro area began to reopen, was to provide grants to small businesses in St. Louis City and County neighborhoods with the highest concentrations of people living in poverty.  Invest STL identified 57 businesses that needed capital to meet standards for reopening and didn’t have access to other sources of funding.  Dowd Bennett was proud to support these companies that have been in existence for an average of nine years and employ about 346 people.  Seventy five percent of them have remained open during these challenging times.

Spearheaded by partner Jack Danforth, Dowd Bennett set out to raise $150,000.  Danforth said, “This [initiative] is so much in line with Dowd Bennett’s values, how we perceive ourselves and how we are perceived in the community.”  Founding partner Jim Bennett added, “We are pleased to have the chance to help, and believe this was a very deserving cause.  We wish good fortune to all as we work through this situation.”