Small business grant programs pick up slack across Maine
Photo / Maureen Milliken
A new Central Maine Growth Council grant program will provide emergency grants for Waterville area businesses affected by COVID-19.
While Maine's small businesses continue to struggle with the challenges of staying open and surviving during the COVID-19 pandemic, public and private sector grant programs continue to evolve to pick up the slack.
Recent grant programs that are providing support, both in specific areas and statewide, include the following.
Waterville area Small Business Resiliency Grants
The Central Maine Growth Council launched the Waterville Region Small Business Grant, which offers financial assistance to mid-Maine businesses and entrepreneurs whose businesses have been affected COVID-19. The program awards direct grants of up to $2,000.
The grants are designed to be as responsive as possible to what business owners and entrepreneurs needs, and so the allowed use of the money is wide-ranging. It can be used for payroll, rent and utility expenses, and expenses associated with reopening in accordance with CDC and state regulations, among other purposes.
The grant period opened July 14 and applications are accepted on a rolling basis and will continue until the money is gone. Businesses that receive grants must use the money by Oct. 1.
Eligibility criteria, program guidance and grant application are available at centralmaine.org/covid-19. This is a rolling application with no deadline, though demand is high and early applications are encouraged.
Micro-enterprise CDBG grants
The Maine Department of Economic & Community Development will provide grants of up to $5,000 for businesses with five or fewer employees, with an owner whose income is in the low to moderate range.
The money is part of the $11 million Maine got from the federal CARES Act for its Community Development Block Grant program for non-entitlement communities. Some $2 million of that is being made available through the Micro-Enterprise Program in partnership with the Small Business Development Center.
Eligibility criteria include, but are not limited to, five or fewer employees including the owner; owner's household income is low/moderate as defined by HUD (80% of county median income); business must show revenue loss as a direct consequence of COVID-19. More information is available from the SBDC.
Somerset County Economic Resource Council grants
In Somerset County, applications have closed for the first round of grants for the COVID-19 relief fund, but as the fund grows, more rounds may become available, organizers said. A recent $25,000 from Skowhegan Savings Bank Charitable Foundation increased the Somerset County Economic Resource Council fund to $75,000.
The council is a consortium of Somerset County development leaders that have joined together to offer financial assistance to businesses that have been negatively impacted by COVID-19. The council's grants are for up to $5,000 and can be used by Somerset County businesses for immediate COVID-19 relief to assist with payroll, utilities, rent, mortgage payments, insurance, inventory, production and more.
The council includes representatives from Somerset Economic Development Corporation, Main Street Skowhegan, the Skowhegan Economic Development Corp., Skowhegan Regional Chamber of Commerce and the town of Skowhegan. The fund began with a $25,000 from Somerset County Economic Development Corp., which was matched by $25,000 from the Somerset County Commissioners. The Skowhegan Savings Bank Charitable Foundation's $25,000 was announced last week.
Bangor nonprofit arts and culture grants
Recipients of the city of Bangor's COVID-19 emergency relief grants for nonprofit arts and culture organizations will be announced on Aug. 14. The grants will provide up to $2,000.
The $15,000 fund is providing relief for organizations that can cover operating expenses, including rent, payroll and utilities. The application period closed July 31.
The city said in a news release that it recognizes the importance of local arts and culture organizations to the identity of Bangor as the center of arts and culture for central and northern Maine, as well as being an important economic driver for the city. "Unlike the biannual grants offered for project-based work, these relief grants are intended to provide much-needed operational support to arts and culture organizations that have been significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic," the city said.
"Non-profit arts and culture organizations are a significant force in shaping the experience of being in Bangor," said cultural liaison Betsy Lundy. "They enhance the experience of every resident of and visitor to the city."
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