Rutherford County church community collects donations for small business grants

CHRISTIANA, Tenn. (WTVF) — Many small businesses are still struggling to rebound, and members of a Rutherford County Church refuse to sit on the sidelines and just watch.

Small businesses are the backbone of any community, and leaders of Believers Faith Fellowship in Christiana are raising money to help them during this difficult time.

Every year, the church holds a fundraiser called the "Big Give" where they make donations to parts of the community. But, this year they're raising $20,000 for small businesses in Rutherford and Bedford County.

After they're done, the church community will take half the money to make ten $1,000 grants and the rest will be donated to nonprofit organizations in the area.

Businesses can email the church at biggive@bfftn.org to apply with a three to five minute long video explaining who you are and what you would do with the money.

The church will then pick ten winners. Leaders said there's more to this than just financial benefits.

"I believe that it’s just a shot of faith and a shot of hope to believe God for more, so $1,000 may not tangibly go a long way, but I believe for the intangible impact to inspire something inside of them to want more," said pastor Jason Scales.

The deadline to apply is this Sunday.

Anyone who is interested in donating to the fund has a few ways to do so. You can send money through the app Givelify, give directly to the church through its website, through CashApp $BFFCHURCH, or donations can be sent to the church directly at Believers Faith Fellowship P.O. Box 70, Christiana, Tennessee, 37037. Church leaders ask anyone donating to specify that it is meant for The Big Give.