PETE AND BURSON SNYDER ANNOUNCE LEADERSHIP TRANSITION OF 30 DAY FUND
Jim Cheng, board member and former secretary of commerce and trade, to take over operations of 30 Day Fund
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VIRGINIA — Pete and Burson Snyder, co-founders of the nonprofit Virginia 30 Day Fund and its affiliates, today announced that they will be stepping back from day-to-day operations of the Virginia 30 Day Fund. Jim Cheng, a 30 Day Fund board member and former Virginia Secretary of Commerce and Trade from 2010 – 2014, will take over in a senior leadership role as the 30 Day Fund continues.
Pete and Burson Snyder co-founded the Virginia 30 Day Fund in April 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the crushing impact on small business. The Virginia 30 Day fund has raised more than $4 million dollars and will be funding 1,000 small businesses across the Commonwealth. The 30 Day Fund has assisted other leaders to replicate its model with efforts in Georgia, Pennsylvania, Arkansas, Mississippi, and New Jersey. In December, Dave Portnoy of Barstool Sports created the Barstool Fund – an affiliate of the 30 Day Fund – and CNBC’s Marcus Lemonis recently partnered with the 30 Day Fund to help small businesses impacted by the tragic Christmas Day bombing in Nashville, Tennessee.
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, under the Snyders’ leadership, 30 Day Fund-related entities have raised more than $25 million and helped save more than 2,500 small businesses and secure 15,000 jobs across the United States.
“Helping others keep their dreams alive and their businesses and employees afloat during this past year has been the greatest and most rewarding job I’ve ever had,” said Pete Snyder, Co-Founder of the 30 Day Fund. “Thanks to the leadership of Jim Cheng and so many of our volunteers and generous supporters, Burson and I know with certainty the 30 Day Fund will be there to help thousands more hard working heroes get through this horrible time. There is much hard work ahead, and Burson and I will continue to fight on behalf of small business and be part of the solution.”
“The small businesses of Virginia, and the families and dreams they represent, have given more to us this last ten months than the 30 Day Fund could ever do for them. These incredible entrepreneurs have taught our family lessons in grit, perseverance, humility and creativity that have changed us for the better, and we are so grateful for this incredible opportunity to help shore up the backbone of our Commonwealth,” said Burson Snyder, Co-Founder of the 30 Day Fund. “Pete and I look forward to working with Jim and to seeing the Pay It Forward movement carry on under his leadership.”
“Pete and Burson Snyder are incredible champions for Virginia small business,” said 30 Day board member and former Virginia Secretary of Commerce and Trade Jim Cheng. “In April of 2020, weeks into the pandemic, no one knew what to do. Government was slow to respond and small businesses were hanging on by a thread. Pete and Burson had a vision, brought people together and made a difference. Today we are on pace to help more than 1,000 small businesses in the Commonwealth, protecting thousands of Virginia jobs. Even though we’ve been at this for nearly a year, we are just getting started. The Pay It Forward movement the Snyders started is catching fire all around the nation and will be helping thousands and thousands more struggling small businesses in the weeks and months to come. I look forward to ensuring the continued success of the Virginia 30 Day Fund.”
ABOUT THE 30 DAY FUND
The nonprofit Virginia 30 Day Fund was launched by Virginia technology entrepreneur Pete Snyder and his wife, Burson. Working with other business leaders throughout the Commonwealth, the Fund’s goal is to help save as many Virginia jobs as possible.
The COVID-19 crisis has threatened hundreds of thousands of small businesses in Virginia, where almost half of all jobs are attributable to small businesses. Even as businesses embark upon the process of reopening, they face new regulations and uncertainties, a diminished economy, and a lack of financial cushion, as surplus resources have been stretched thin for many.
Virginia businesses that qualify for assistance from the Fund are:
- Small businesses that employ three to 30 people;
- Based in Virginia and have been operating for at least one year;
- Owned and operated by a Virginia resident.
The funds disbursed to small businesses by the Virginia 30 Day fund do not need to be repaid. If businesses who receive the Fund’s assistance do, at a later date, wish to “pay it forward” to another Virginia small business in need of assistance, they may do so by directing those dollars back to the Fund, which will disburse the funding to another Virginia business in need.
The Virginia 30 Day Fund will continue to operate on a volunteer basis with zero administrative overhead, meaning 100 percent of every dollar goes to help small businesses in need.
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