Hoping to lend support to local businesses during the current pandemic, the Gambit, an alt-weekly in New Orleans, La., recently launched Adopt-a-Small Business. The program supports locally-owned shops and restaurants by allowing the public to “adopt” them through donated advertising space.

Due to the pandemic, the Gambit itself had to deal with its own set of challenges. It had to furlough some staff members and implement a four-day workweek in April. Additionally, the publication reduced its weekly publication schedule to bi-weekly, but as the pandemic began to seriously affect local businesses, publisher Jeanne Exnicios Foster realized she wanted to support them in some way. Advertising came to mind immediately, and with Gambit’s wide reach in the area, Exnicios Foster knew they could be extremely valuable.

The program, which officially launched in March, included four different packages. For $125, adopters can receive one…