The City of Miami announced a new rant program for small businesses hurt by the pandemic crisis. The city will start taking applications for the grants up to $20,000 on Friday, and will continue until the $5 million pool of federal CARES Act funds runs dry. The city’s Department of Housing and Community Development will administer the business grants.
Here’s the lowdown on the program
The new City of Miami Business Assistance Grant program has $5 million funding available to help approximately 250 eligible small businesses within City of Miami limits that suffered a loss of revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic and meet all other program requirements. The program will provide qualifying businesses with a one-time assistance grant amount equal to 20 percent of the business’s annual gross revenue last year (2019), with a maximum amount of $20,000. The business can be for-profit or not-for-profit, but its annual revenue cannot exceed $1 million.
The program application will be available online for downloading starting Friday, November 20, 2020, 9 am, and will include a list of the required supporting documentation that MUST be submitted, along with the completed application, in ONE sealed package.
All business eligibility criteria will be indicated in the application, but the applicant must currently be open for business, or able to open if no mandatory closure orders are in place. Expenses covered by the program are those allowing the business to remain operational including, but not limited to, rent, employee salaries, licenses, insurance, utilities, inventory, COVID-prevention supplies, services related to cleaning and sanitizing the work environment, and certain utility costs. Reimbursable expenses must have been incurred on or after March 1, 2020, up to the date of the application’s submission. The program cannot pay for future anticipated expenses.
Applications will be processed on a first-come, first-ready, first serve basis. If a business submits an application that is incomplete due to missing supporting documentation, the applicant will be contacted and informed of the missing document(s), but staff will continue to work on other ready submissions.
The $5 million relief program is funded with Coronavirus, Aid, Relief, And Economic Security (CARES) Act funds provided in coordination with Miami-Dade County. Due to federal guidelines, the program closes on December 31.
The application and instructions can be accessed here starting on Friday.
For more grant and loan opportunities in South Florida, go here.