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Reboot Our Business Community

Deadline to Donate: July 30, 2024

Donate Now to Reboot Our Business Community →

$4,825

Raised as of 8am on 07/15/2024

48

Donors as of 8m on 07/15/2024

Donate Now

we're challenging our community to raise $25,000

As a result of the natural disaster striking Lewis County on July 10th, various businesses across our community are facing damages that have seized their operations and stalled their growth. In an effort to support our business community, Naturally Lewis is opening a donation portal to fundraise for a program that will directly support our local business community. As we develop this program in response to this natural disaster, we promise you this: 100% of funds submitted through this portal will go directly to Lewis County businesses.

via Check

To support the business community via check, please visit or mail your donation to the Naturally Lewis office at:

7551 S. State St. 
Lowville, NY 13367

via Online Portal

Donations will exclude the cost of credit card fees.

To support the business community via check, please visit below portal.

Donate Now
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Frequently Asked Questions

from community members

Why are we doing this?
Naturally Lewis, Inc. is an economic development organization who has the expertise and skill set to collect donations and disburse them in ways that meet the needs of our business community.  We will create an application process to ensure that the funds are getting to the businesses in need, and eligibility criteria will include things like the amount of damage, cost of damages or equipment needed, etc. 
As a non-profit, we need to be transparent and document our processes according to non-profit laws, and will be happy to talk to any more about our process!
We have received multiple emails and messages about where people can donate, and rather than using a platform such as GoFundMe where a large percentage of donations stay with the platform, we decided to keep this local so that all proceeds (minus credit card fees associated with our processing platform) stay local
Why are we serving the business community?
Naturally Lewis, Inc. is an economic development organization serving as a one-stop shop for business support in Lewis County, NY; we serve our business community in everything we do. There are partner organizations in human services with plans to support affected residents. We're supporting the business commmuntiy as it is in the scope of our work.
Can donations be earmarked?

No. We are a county wide non-profit and we will use funds to disperse based on applications and needs of businesses and community organizations.

Are donations tax deductible?
Yes. We are a charitable organization and can mail you documentation of your donation. 
How will funds be distributed?

As we are a county-wide economic development organization, we will ensure funds are disbursed in a fair and equitable manner.  As we do with any of our other loan or grant programs, once a fund has been built up, we will accept applications to review and assess the needs of businesses.  Businesses will have to show estimates/receipts for flood related purchases.  Funds will be distributed based on the amount of funds we have and the funding need of businesses.  A committee of staff and board members will oversee this process, and we will list, on our website, where funds were distributed when all is said and done.

Why hasn't Naturally Lewis done this for other events?

Naturally Lewis, Inc. was incorporated as a nonprofit organization on October 1, 2023. As we now have the capacity and ability to develop programs as such, we are doing so to reboot our business community.

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Immediate Resources for Business Owners

through Naturally Lewis

Learn More About Grants, Loans, & Incentives →
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