American Express’ Small Business Saturday Giving Pledge Raises Over $5 Million Toward Hurricane Recovery

American Express today announced that its giving pledge on Small Business Saturday raised over $5 million toward a second round of grants to help support the small businesses impacted by Hurricanes Helene and Milton. 1,000 small businesses will receive grants through the Small Business Hurricane Recovery grant program launched in October, in collaboration with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation.

For the first round of the program, American Express committed $5 million in initial funding, which was distributed to 1,000 small businesses to help them recover from the devastating effects of the hurricanes. To further expand its support for impacted small businesses, American Express donated $1 for every purchase made with an eligible American Express Card at a qualifying U.S. small business on this year’s Small Business Saturday which took place on November 30.

Since its launch in 2010, American Express’ Small Business Saturday campaign has rallied communities to support their local small businesses during the critical holiday season, driving an estimated $223 billion¹ in total reported consumer spending at U.S. small businesses on the day.

“We’re committed to extending our longstanding support of small businesses to help those that were devasted by the hurricanes this fall,” said Jennifer Skyler, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, American Express. “We’ve heard first-hand from small business owners about the impact our initial grant funding had on their recovery, but there’s still more work to do. Many small businesses are still struggling, and we hope that this second round of Small Business Hurricane Recovery grants will help them recover and prosper again.”

“Small businesses are the foundation of local economies.” said Michael Carney, President of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation. “Without them, these communities will face significant challenges in getting back on their feet. This grant funding will help meet the immediate needs of impacted small businesses and can go a long way in accelerating their recovery and helping rebuild these communities.”

Applications for the second round of Small Business Hurricane Recovery grants are now open through January 3, 2025. The grant program and giving pledge offer crucial assistance across affected states, including Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. Grants can be used for business expenses related to disaster recovery such as rent, utilities, payroll, inventory, equipment, and infrastructure. Small businesses can visit the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation to check eligibility criteria and apply for the grants².

Footnotes:

¹ This spend statistic is an aggregate of the average spend as reported by consumers who shopped small on Small Business Saturday in surveys commissioned by American Express reporting spend habits on Small Business Saturday since 2012. It does not reflect actual receipts, sales or American Express Card Member spending data. Each such survey was conducted online among a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults. The data was projected from the samples based on then-current U.S. Census estimates of the U.S. adult population (18+).

² The application period will remain open until Friday, January 3, 2025, at 11:59pm ET. The grant program will provide a $5,000 grant to 1,000 impacted small businesses that meet eligibility requirements. Small business must be located in a primary county from U.S. Small Business Administration’s disaster declarations for Tropical Storm/Hurricane Helene or Hurricane Milton. For more information and to apply for a grant, visit the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation.