The Book Industry Charitable Foundation has begun accepting comic and book store applications for grants under its new Survive to Thrive program, which was seeded with $1 million in contributions from Ingram, Bookshop.Org, and several large book publishers (see "Binc Seeks Author and Creator Support for ‘Survive to Thrive’").  The program will grant up to $10,000 (depending on the final contribution tally) to 200 comic stores and booksellers.

Applications (click here) will be accepted until May 10 at 5pm ET.  Identifying information about the stores applying will not be seen by the group reviewing the applications.  The juried review process will consider the store’s financial stability before the pandemic, the negative impacts of the pandemic, and plans for recovery with the granted funds.

Application reviewers will be led by longtime Waldenbooks and Borders HQ manager Judy Kalchik, who will be joined by former DC Executive Director – Events Fletcher Chu-Fong; former bookseller and current publisher (Read Island) Nicole Magistro, former bookseller and current non-profit Finance Director Erica Rodriguez Merrell, former Books Inc. CEO and ABA President Michael Tucker, and former Independent Booksellers Consortium executive director and current Program Director for the Goldman-Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Program at Wayne State University.