Formula One’s partnership with Miami Gardens to bring the international auto racing sport to the city over the next 10 years has led to a $500,000 commitment to support small businesses in the area.
Last week, F1 announced that it will partner with the Community Fund of North Miami Dade (CFNMD), a subsidiary of the Opa-locka Community Development Corporation (OLCDC), to distribute loans for businesses located in Miami Gardens and business owners who are residents of the city.
In support of the program, the Truist Foundation will add an additional $100,000 to the pot, while the OLCDC will match F1’s commitment with an additional $500,000, meaning more than $1 million will be up for grabs for the local business community.
“This will help them to be more prosperous,” Harris told The Miami Times about local businesses able to take advantage of the partnership. “The pandemic has brought us to a point where people are in need of money, and small businesses here in Miami Gardens are in need of those funds as well. So this is another avenue that we put in place so that small businesses can have an opportunity to prosper.”
“Those funds allowed us to dress the part, be the part and bake the part, and it’s been great,” she said, sharing the excitement that CFNMD will receive more funding to continue supporting businesses like hers through loan opportunities.
F1 will be assessing how long it takes for those dollars to be distributed via loans before deciding on whether the commitment will be renewed for additional loan funding.
“As far as the city is concerned, we will be putting something together to assist our residents,” said Harris when asked about additional benefits from the partnership outside of the business loan program. “And that’ll come in the near future.”
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