Small Business Grant Program (Minority and Women-Owned Businesses)

Small Business Grant Program (Minority and Women-Owned Businesses) is sponsored by Missouri Department of Economic Development. Supports Missouri-based for-profit entities that are minority and women-owned, aiming to assist early-stage and growing businesses.

Small Business Grant Program | Department of Economic Development Small Business Grant Program The application cycle for this program has closed. Program awards have been made to applicant entities. Grants to small businesses to create resiliency and help accelerate their ongoing recovery, including specific support for minority and women-owned businesses.

Total allocation: $10,000,000 Per draft guidelines, the following entities are eligible to apply for the Program: Is organized as a for profit entity. Must be Missouri-based (located and operating in the state of Missouri). Must, at the time of application, employ 50 or fewer full-time employees, including the owner(s): Full-time employee is defined as an individual who is scheduled to work 35 or more hours per week.

Must have been in operation in Missouri since before January 1, 2019 and be currently operating. Must be independently owned and operated and not be dominant in its field on a national basis. Must self-certify that, barring unforeseen circumstances, it plans to remain in business through calendar year 2023.

Minority-or Women-Owned Business Applicants: In addition to meeting standard Applicant requirements, an Applicant meeting the following additional requirement will be eligible for the funds set aside for minority- or women-owned small businesses, as set forth in Section 1 of the Guidelines: Applicant must self-certify that it is at least 51% owned and controlled by one or more minority persons or women.

Businesses are not required to be certified by any government entity to be eligible, but if a business is so certified, it may submit proof of certification instead of a self-attestation. *Please see the Small Business Grant Program Guidelines for the full listing of eligibility requirements. Awards to be made on a first come, first served basis until all funds are expended, prior to the ARPA funding deadline.

Grant maximum: $25,000 Eligible applicants are qualified to receive Program funds by submitting documentation demonstrating negative economic impact due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the form of declining revenues or gross receipts.

Proof of declining revenues or gross receipts is to be demonstrated by the Applicant through the submission of tax filings showing a decrease in gross revenue/receipts in 2021 as compared to gross revenue/receipts in 2019. DED intends to award all funds in one funding round but may hold additional funding rounds to ensure all available funds are spent.

Awards are to be made on first come, first served basis until all funds are expended, prior to the ARPA funding deadline. To date, we have received applications requesting funding greater than the $10 million available for the program. As such, applications closed on November 30 at 12 p.

m. Application launch date: November 16, 2022, at 10:00 a. m.

CST. Application close date: 11/30/22 For questions about this program, please contact grants@ded. mo.

gov . I submitted my application early but have not heard back yet. What is the status of my application?

DED began sending award announcements and denial messages on January 20, 2023. This is an ongoing process that will continue until all applicants receive notification on a rolling basis. For reference, of the 723 applications received, 483 were submitted within the first 48 hours of the application opening.

Each application must undergo several rounds of review before a final determination is made to award or decline the funding request. We appreciate your continued patience as we work diligently to complete reviews and make announcements. Will I receive a notification if I am not selected for an award?

Yes. Each applicant will receive a notification via Submittable messaging on a rolling basis indicating whether they have been selected for funding or declined. Is there anything I can do to help speed up the process?

To ensure a timely review process, if you are contacted with a request for missing documentation/information, please be prompt in your response so our team can continue pushing forward with the review of applications. Small Business Grant Program FAQs Small Business Grant Program Final Guidelines November 7, 2022 - Small Business Grant Program Town Hall Training