'Not going to leave a single business behind': Macon nonprofit program helps downtown businesses during COVID-19 crisis

MACON, Ga. — A downtown Macon group is helping small businesses and non-profits stay afloat during the COVID-19 crisis. 

Newtown Macon president Josh Rogers says his organization is offering a program of free virtual classes to business owners struggling because of the coronavirus outbreak.

"We have a set of classes and they start with an intro webinar which is basically an overview of every program, tactic, and strategy that we know about that could be helpful to an organization during this time," said Rogers. 

Rogers says many restaurants, bars, clothing stores, and other businesses have shut down completely because of the shelter-in-place order. He says NewTown Macon is holding each training on Zoom for business owners and employees for the next two weeks.

"One of the things that I'm most excited about is we'll move into cash flow and budgeting. Almost all the old knowledge and financial information about your business is out the window," said Rogers. 

He says other smaller specialized classes will teach businesses how to fill out an economic injury disaster loan. He says regular classes can hold up to 20 businesses while smaller classes consist of five businesses. 

"We're not going to leave a single business behind. Downtown is going to be back to life. Macon is going to be back to life. I can't wait to enjoy a hug and a handshake from some of our friends that we are desperately missing right now," said Rogers. 

The program is free and Rogers says different classes will meet different people's needs. You can register for the classes at newtownmacon.com.

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