When Dave Portnoy, founder of Barstool Sports, discovers a struggling small business, he jumps to its aid right away. Whether it’s by grabbing a slice of pizza to review on his massively popular pizza review series “One Bite (Everyone Knows the Rules)” or through his newly created fund, the Barstool Fund, to help small businesses, he is always there to give support to those in need. The Barstool Fund was founded in late 2020 because Portnoy couldn’t just sit by and watch these businesses fall to the dirt. He had to do something.
Portnoy gained inspiration to start the Barstool Fund through his personal experience of watching a small business crumble. His ingenuity to begin the fund came from his right-hand man and cameraman, Frankie Borelli. Borelli’s father, owner of a small Italian restaurant called Borelli’s, had been struggling to keep his business afloat. Portnoy would constantly check in on the struggling business, and every time he did, things were looking worse and worse for the restaurant. Portnoy didn’t think that the government was doing enough to help these businesses — which is where the idea of the Barstool Fund comes into play. In December of 2020, Portnoy created the Barstool Fund and was the first donor by giving $500,000 out of his own pocket. Roughly two months later, the Barstool Fund has supported over 250 businesses nationwide and has had over 200,000 “Stoolies” donate to the cause with a combined $36 million funds raised, per Barstool Sports. In fact, Bentley University’s own chapter of Kappa Sigma set up a fundraiser to support the Barstool Fund. The Super Bowl fundraiser included sixty participants and donated over $500 to the cause.
One of the best aspects of the Barstool Fund is that these businesses are being continuously supported until they no longer need it. The funds help to keep the business alive which means that employees are still getting paid, and customers are happy. Thanks to Portnoy and thousands of other donors, not all businesses will succumb to the treachery COVID-19 has brought to our communities.
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