Pete Snyder’s Virginia 30 Day Fund has a new partner, the Barstool Fund, which is funding businesses who are still paying their employees even though they aren’t making enough to stay open.
“I’ve been ranting and raving lately about the plight of small businesses in the United States,” Barstool Sports Founder David Portnoy said in a video. “New York City just shut down in door dining. It’s like, ‘How do you expect these people to survive? How are restaurants going to survive?'”
Portnoy said his fund would help businesses who are still paying their employees who need money to make it to the next month. He said the funds weren’t a one-time gift — as long as the businesses still need help and were still paying their employees, the money would still be there.
“Each month we will continue to cut you a check until this is over,” Portnoy said.
“I’ve been a fan of David Portnoy at Barstool for a while,” Snyder told The Virginia Star. He said that the Virginia 30 Day Fund had partnered with Portnoy earlier in the year in Pennsylvania, giving the two groups experience working together.
“Dave came out and launched his fund right before Christmas, and we got a call right away.” When the Barstool Fund asked for help from the Virginia 30 Day Fund, “I said, ‘Absolutely,'” Snyder said.
By Wednesday evening, the fund had raised over $19 million in donations; Snyder said hundreds of those donations were from Virginians. While the Virginia 30 Day Fund and the Barstool Fund are partners, Snyder said that the Virginia 30 Day Fund is providing back-end support and some funding. Both the funds are zero-overhead, according to Snyder, meaning that all donations go directly to businesses.
Snyder and his wife Burson put up a $1,000,000 matching donation targeted specifically at Virginia small businesses. Portnoy announced the donation on New Year’s Eve, and by midnight, the fund had passed a $15 million goal and nearly reached $17 million. The matching challenge brought in nearly $5 million in one day.
The Barstool Fund has helped 83 businesses in the U.S., including family-owned Wonju Korean Restaurant in Roanoke, Virginia, and LGBTQ+ friendly Freddie’s Beach Bar in Arlington, Virginia.
“This is the best and most rewarding job that I’ve ever had,” Snyder said. “I don’t get paid for it, but it’s just been the most rewarding and humbling and heartening work that I’ve ever done in my life.”
To apply for aid or to donate, visit: barstoolsports.com/the-barstool-fund
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Eric Burk is a reporter at The Virginia Star and the Star News Digital Network. Email tips to [email protected].
