The WEDC (Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation) has created a grant program for small businesses including sole-proprietors who meet the criteria and can supply the paperwork for funding. This program will provide $2,500 grants to 30,000 small businesses. It is designed to help small businesses get back on their feet amid the COVID-19 pandemic while also encouraging them to adopt best practices to keep employees, customers, and communities safe. Funded by the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, the grants will help small businesses with the costs of business interruption or for health and safety improvements, wages and salaries, rent, mortgages, and inventory.
The We’re All In small business grant application portal is open now and will close on June 26th until 11:59 pm. The application is live on WEDC’s website via this link https://wedc.org/programs-and-resources/wai-small-business-grant/.
One item you will NEED to provide is an email or letter of acknowledgment from a community organization indicating your business was in operation in February 2020. A sample letter is attached. If you are a CARW member, we can provide this – just contact Alexis Strode at alexis@carw.com.
- Was in business in February 2020. Businesses that started in 2020 are not eligible;
- Is Wisconsin-based and for-profit;
- Employs 20 or fewer full-time equivalent (FTE) employees, including the owner; and
- Has more than $0 but less than $1 million in annual revenues.
- Part of a national chain, unless the business is a third-party franchise;
- Industries covered by other Wisconsin CARES Act Coronavirus Relief Fund programs are ineligible for this program. These are:
- Crop Production
- Animal Production or Aquaculture
- Lessors of Residential Buildings and Dwellings (https://doa.wi.gov/Pages/LocalGovtsGrants/COVID-Grants.aspx
- 2019 federal tax return for business. A 2018 tax return is acceptable if you have not filed your 2019 returns (If you started your business in 2020, you are not eligible for this grant.)
- Signed W-9 form available at www.irs.gov
- A letter or email of acknowledgment from a community organization indicating your business was in operation in February 2020.