Small businesses play a vital role in shaping vibrant, creative, and unique communities across the nation. Every day, small business owners work tirelessly to serve their neighbors, create jobs, and lend a helping hand where it’s needed most. In fact, a 2025 Intuit QuickBooks study found that 90% of respondents say small businesses contribute to their sense of community. That’s why Intuit QuickBooks and Mailchimp created Small Business Hero Day to celebrate those impactful community leaders and to recognize three small business owners for their inspiring efforts with $20,000 grants.
On April 25, 2025, Intuit QuickBooks and Mailchimp celebrated this year’s recipients in a special ceremony hosted by WNBA League MVP and basketball legend Lisa Leslie. The owners of Perry’s Joint, BJ’s Nevada Barbecue, and the Homeless Garden Project were presented with a $20,000 grant, which will help them provide educational opportunities, mentorship, and vital services that uplift their communities.
Learn more about each of the hardworking leaders below:
BJ’s Nevada Barbecue in Sparks, Nevada
Bridget Bennett via AP Content Services for Intuit QuickBooks
Visitors know BJ’s Nevada Barbecue for its smoky ribs and signature sauces, but the locals love this restaurant for its deep community roots. Owner and chef Jay Rathmann has made his restaurant a hub for aspiring chefs by contributing to culinary educational programs and providing mentorship to local students as they prepare for cooking competitions. And through his Food Truck Friday event, Rathmann raises funds for scholarships and equipment at northern Nevada culinary programs. The restaurant also supports first responders during emergencies to ensure that they have a place to get a hot meal.
“To be part of Small Business Hero Day is amazing for us,” Rathmann said. “I’m amazed that I have individuals in my life who think of me in that facet and that I am worthy of an award like this. That’s huge to me and helps me understand that what we’re doing is actually making a difference in my community.” Rathmann plans to use the grant to pursue his philanthropic efforts: “This grant is going to help me put money towards things that are close to our heart [and] things that we believe in and are proud of — both my students and my employees love doing that.”
Perry’s Joint in Pasadena, California
Jordan Strauss via AP Content Services for Intuit QuickBooks
Perry’s Joint, a jazz-themed sandwich shop in Pasadena, provides much more than delicious heros and subs. Through various educational and charitable initiatives, the founder, Perry Bennett, has turned the restaurant into a cornerstone of the community. In addition to hiring local youths, the shop also helps the community with its annual scholarship initiative, when the shop donates a full day’s worth of earnings to scholarships for local high school students. “This is about the people. This is about the community,” Bennett said. “This is about seeing where you can do something…and it has to come from the heart.”
Although Bennett gladly extends his generosity to the people in his neighborhood, he admits that operating as a small business has its difficulties. “As a small business, it’s not like we have unlimited resources,” he conceded. But with the Intuit grant, Bennett can feel a sense of security despite the challenges that come a restaurateur’s way. “The $20,000 grant means so much. As a small business, it’s tight. You’re riding the line. It’s nice for once, in decades, to be able to have a cushion in case something happens.”
Constanza Hevia via AP Content Services for Intuit QuickBooks
The Homeless Garden Project is an organic farm that provides hands-on job training, meaningful work and support services to those experiencing homelessness. Led by executive director Darrie Ganzhorn, the farm sells its harvests through a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program, at a farm stand and in local stores. It also sells handmade items like jams and candles, which can be purchased in local stores or online here.
“We depend on the community to make our business happen, and it feels really good to be honored and to be seen in the context of a small business that is attempting to have more impact on their community,” Ganzhorn said upon receiving the grant. “We work really hard at the Homeless Garden Project, and we have an amazing team. We’re providing the opportunity to the people that we’re serving on our crew, but they’re the ones that are really doing the hard work of transformation, and I honor that work that they do — and thank Intuit for honoring it as well.”
Now more small business heroes can be recognized as Hero Day expands into a new yearlong initiative called the Intuit QuickBooks and Mailchimp Small Business Hero Program. The newly launched program will now recognize and reward three exceptional small businesses every quarter with grants and additional resources.
To nominate a small business that is making a difference in your community for the Small Business Hero Program, visit intuit.com/heroprogram.
