/
Jeremiah Crow, right, pauses with his business partner, A.J. Carson, at a Benton Boulevard house they are transforming into a duplex.
The nonprofit, started by a group of Black business owners to help others gain access to capital, has been a boon for small businesses suffering from the economic toll of the coronavirus.
Jeremiah Crow was released from prison about five years ago after serving a five-year stretch for robbery, hoping to use some of the electrical wiring skills he learned in confinement to get a job.
But employers were wary of hiring an ex-felon. So with the odds stacked against him, Crow struck out on his own, doing residential handyman jobs like wiring, painting and remodeling.
Carlos Moreno/KCUR 89.3
Jeremiah Crow was released from prison about five years ago after serving a five-year stretch for robbery, hoping to use some of the electrical wiring skills he learned in confinement to get a job.
But employers were wary of hiring an ex-felon. So with the odds stacked against him, Crow struck out on his own, doing residential handyman jobs like wiring, painting and remodeling.
He made it a point to hire other ex-felons and through word of mouth business began to pick up.
Still, his business, KC Maintenance & Remodel, could have used a little help a boost especially important in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. In November, that help came in the form of a $10,000 grant from a nonprofit called G.I.F.T. that was formed last year.