MADISON – The Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. today began accepting applications online for the $75 million We’re All In Small Business Grant Program. The online application will be open until 11:59 p.m. June 23.
The program, which will provide $2,500 grants to 30,000 small businesses, is designed to help small businesses recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, while also encouraging them to adopt best practices to keep employees, customers and communities safe.
“Many small businesses are struggling to adapt to the changes brought by the pandemic,” said Missy Hughes, WEDC Secretary and CEO, in a news release. “The We’re All In Small Business Grants are intended to provide the ‘starter fluid’ to get these economic engines running again.”
Funded primarily by the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, the grants will help small businesses with the costs of business interruption or health and safety improvements, wages and salaries, rent, mortgages and inventory.
The online application, FAQs, and other information about the grant can be found at wedc.org/WAI-Small-Business-Grant. WEDC anticipates releasing the first round of payments by the end of June.
A business may apply for the We’re All In Small Business Grant if it:
- Started operating prior to Jan. 1, 2020, and was operating as of February 2020;
- Is Wisconsin-based and for-profit;
- Employs 20 or fewer full-time equivalent employees, including the owner; and
- Has more than $0 but less than $1 million in annual revenues.
Businesses will not be eligible for the grants if they are:
- Part of a national chain, unless the business is a third-party franchise;
- Industries covered by other Wisconsin CARES Act Coronavirus Relief Fund programs These are:
- Crop Production https://www.revenue.wi.gov/Pages/TaxPro/2020/FarmSupportProgram.aspx
- Animal Production or Aquaculture https://www.revenue.wi.gov/Pages/TaxPro/2020/FarmSupportProgram.aspx
- Lessors of Residential Buildings and Dwellings (https://doa.wi.gov/Pages/LocalGovtsGrants/COVID-Grants.aspx)
