State Seed Funding Grant Program portal opens, albeit briefly

ALBANY | Gov. Kathy Hochul has announced that the applications portal for the first-in-the-nation Seed Funding Grant Program, created as part of the FY2023 budget, opened Sept. 14. The program provides flexible grants to support early-stage, micro and small businesses in a still-recovering New York State economy. The program will ensure that small businesses that opened shortly before or during the COVID-19 pandemic will have the funds to continue to operate and grow. "This first-in-the-nation Seed Funding Grant Program rounds out $1 billion in flexible funding to support both early-stage, and established small and micro-businesses," Gov. Hochul said. "New York businesses were among the hardest hit nationwide at the height of the pandemic, but with this funding, we're extending a lifeline to help them continue to grow and operate. I encourage all New York business owners to take full advantage and be a part of New York's remarkable recovery." This program builds on New York State's existing $800 million Pandemic Small Business Recovery Grant Program, which has delivered more than $639 million to over 35,000 small businesses since it launched last year, with 90 percent of funding having gone to minority- and women-owned businesses. Starting Sept. 14, Empire State Development (ESD) will expand eligibility for the program, enabling more small businesses to access funding by removing the requirement that businesses show a 25 percent loss in annual gross receipts from 2019 to 2020. This expansion of eligibility comes in addition to previous program changes to profitability requirements and revenue thresholds, aimed at serving additional small businesses. The program, which will continue to process applications currently in the pipeline, will close as funding winds down on Sept. 30. SEED FUNDING GRANT PROGRAM The new Seed Funding Grant Program is designed to support New York State small businesses, micro-businesses and for-profit independent arts and cultural organizations that started operations on or after Sept. 1, 2018, and have been operational for at least six months before an application is submitted. Applicants must have between $5,000 and $1 million in gross receipts per year as reflected on their most recent federal business tax return. More detailed guidelines can be found here: esd.ny.gov/nys-small-business-seed-funding-grant-program. Awards for eligible businesses are based on their 2020 or 2021 tax returns. Businesses with gross receipts ranging from $5,000 to $49,999.99 can receive $5,000 per business. Businesses with $50,000 to $99,999.99 in gross receipts may be awarded $10,000 per business. Businesses with $100,000 to $1 million in gross receipts will be awarded 10 percent of their gross receipts, with a maximum grant amount of $25,000 per business. Eligible applicants that have not yet filed a federal tax return can receive $5,000 per business. PANDEMIC SMALL BUSINESS RECOVERY GRANT PROGRAM Businesses that have started but not yet completed their current application for the Pandemic Small Business Recovery Grant Program must submit all necessary information by 5 p.m. Sept. 30. Recognizing the various challenges that small business owners face, New York State provides one-on-one assistance, webinars, a call center, and materials in 14 languages to ensure greater access to this critical funding. Additionally, ESD's network of partner organizations that offer support services to entrepreneurs and small businesses will help with pandemic relief grant and loan applications. More information can be found here: esd.ny.gov/organizations-available-assist-businesses. The successful Pandemic Small Business Recovery Grant Program has a strong track record of ensuring critical funding is going towards those eligible businesses most in need: Micro-businesses, defined as companies with 10 or fewer employees, have received over 98 percent of the awards. Just over 90 percent of the grants have been awarded to minority- and women-owned business enterprises (MWBEs) and over 47 percent of grant awards went to socially and economically disadvantaged businesses. To date, the average grant award is $17,783. A comprehensive list of all of ESD's COVID-19 business assistance programs can be found here: esd.ny.gov/business-pandemic-recovery-initiative.

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State Seed Funding Grant Program portal opens, albeit briefly

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