Main Street Recovery Program Awards $19m In Grants To Small Businesses In La So Far
BATON ROUGE, La. – Louisiana State Treasurer John Schroder announced Thursday, Sept. 3 that so far, the Main Street Recovery Program has awarded $19 million in grants to small businesses across the state to help them recover losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
We are awarding millions of dollars in grants every single day. On Wednesday alone, we awarded $4.2 million, said Schroder. Next week, Im delivering checks in person to southwest Louisiana, where Hurricane Laura disrupted mail delivery. We are meeting our goals. Were working 24 hours a day to deliver help to small businesses across this state, and were proud to do it.
The state legislature had set aside $275 million of the program. Thus far, more than 21,000 applications have been turned in since the program launched July 28. The treasurer says nearly $15 million in grants has been awarded to businesses owned by minorities, women, and veterans.
Small business owners can to apply for a grant.
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Schroder said demand will likely far exceed supply, which is $275 million after lawmakers took $25 million from the initial $300 million pot of money to put toward front-line workers.
It could be sucked up in the first 21 days, Schroder said. We just dont know.
Schroder also said his office needed to ensure that it could operate the program without being handcuffed if the governors emergency declaration expired. Thats why he said he needed an amendment to a budget bill that was made late in the legislative session to exempt him from procurement rules, saying theres nothing to it.
Forty million dollars will be set aside for grants for minority-owned, women-owned or veteran-owned businesses in the first sixty days.
Grants will be paid out until Dec. 1 or when the money runs out, whichever is sooner.
Louisianas program is one of the key accomplishments of Republican lawmakers in the legislative session that ended June 1. A month-long special session began immediately thereafter.
The state received $1.8 billion in federal coronavirus aid, and the Legislature agreed to use more than $900 million to plug holes in the state budget. That left $811 million that Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards wanted to send to local governments.
Now, Louisiana is spending $275 million on the grant program, more than $500 million on local governments and $50 million on front-line workers, though money could be shifted if one of the pots has leftover funds.
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State Trade Expansion Program
The STEP is a collection of government grants, and other support the Small Business Administration can offer assistance with obtaining or understanding STEP. This program focuses specifically on helping small businesses with export development. Grants are awarded to state entities. Small businesses can then apply to programs offered by these entities so that they can benefit from export development opportunities. Feel free to send an email to to better understand how your business can benefit.
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Local Small Business Grants
In addition to statewide government grants, cities, towns, and nonprofits finance their own small business grant programs. Continuing the trend, these usually carry smaller payloads but less competition. For local small business grants, youâve got a substantial upper hand if you serve your community in a tangible and demonstrable way.
Plus, is your small business aimed at promoting health, environmental consciousness, or similar initiatives? If so, youâll be looking at even more local grants to apply forâand get funding for your eco-friendly business. Because local small business grants are so geographically specific, weâve pulled just a few to show you what kinds of opportunities may exist in your nearby city or town. Again, make sure to look for similar programs in your own locality.
Rural Energy For America Program
This grant program, run by the Department of Agriculture, centers on small businesses in eligible rural areas looking to purchase, construct, or install renewable energy systems or energy efficiency improvement technologies. You can partner one of these federal business grants with a USDA loan guaranty as well, and together theyâll back up to 75% of your eligible project costs.
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Federal Business Grants For Small Business
Although there are plenty of federal business grants for small businesses, they are primarily open to companies in the science, technology, or health fields. If your business is involved in research and development or in scientific initiativesâincluding environmental and climate initiativesâthen federal grant programs might be able to cover some of your expenses and help with your small business funding.
Here are the top federal business grants for small business:
Us Department Of Agriculture Grants
USDA grants focus on agricultural development in rural areas. Some of the government grants offered include:
- Rural Economic Development Loan & Grant Program
- Rural Energy for America Program Renewable Energy Systems & Energy Efficiency Improvement Guaranteed Loans & Grants
- Rural Microentrepreneur Assistance Program
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Jack Daniels Pitch Distilled
Jack Daniels hosts an annual pitch competition with the goal of inspiring entrepreneurs to surface the next big idea. Small business startups can apply and if accepted, theyll pitch their ideas at the Pitch Distilled event to a group of business owners. The winner of this pitch contest will win a $5,000 prize, plus advice and guidance from the panel of judges to help make their idea a reality.
Please View Governor John Bel Edwards’ Letter In Support Of The Rebirth Fund
Louisiana experienced historic flooding in the summer of 2016. In addition to the incalculable personal losses, thousands of businesses were affected by the the flooding.
While federal recovery programs are helpful, they cannot begin to make whole the thousands of small businesses hit hard by this tragedy. The Louisiana Small Business Rebirth Fund provides a hand up to impacted businesses through triage grants to provide quick relief. We are continuing to advocate for assistance for small businesses.Applications are no longer being accepted for grant funding the period to apply was in the immediate aftermath of the flood.
Help where its needed:
Donations to the Louisiana Small Business Rebirth Fund are awarded as need based grants to small businesses seeking desperately to reopen providing goods and services within their communities and jobs for their employees. Spread the word to encourage individuals, businesses and corporations to donate to the fund.
One hundred percent of donations is awarded directly to small businesses and donations are tax deductible.
To donate by phone or for more information on the Louisiana Small Business Rebirth Fund, contact Elena Lacour at or .
Following are links to additional business disaster relief information:
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Looking For Small Business Grants For Women In Louisiana
A Google search for women business grants will bring up a few pages of sites. But most either look like scams or complicated government sites all of which want your personal and financial information.
Thats not what were offering you. Instead, WomensNet can help you find real grants, loans, and other funding for your business venture. Youre still going to have to put in some hard work and time. But if youre serious about getting your business to the next level, youll find our site a big help.
The place to start is with our Amber Grant for Women. This is our simple $10,000 monthly grant. And businesswomen from Louisiana are eligible to apply for this grant. At the end of each month, our judges select one winner. At the end of the year, our 12 monthly winners are eligible to become the year-end recipient of our biggest grant ever $25,000. That means a few minutes now could translate into life-changing funds for your business.
After youve applied for our grant, please take a bit of time to check out the resources below. There are folks in Louisiana waiting to help women business owners just like you.
Changes To Federal Paid Leave
As of March 18th, 2020, the federal government is providing certain workers paid sick leave in the event that they are ill, quarantined, or seeking medical care.
This relief act applies to employees at small, midsize, and nonprofit companies so long as the employee has been employed for more than 30 days. For more information, you can read the Families First Coronavirus Response Act.
The Department of Labor also recommends that small business employers check if their employees sick leave is covered under the Family and Medical Leave Act . If an employee or their family is incapacitated due to the coronavirus , their employer is required to provide job-protected, unpaid leave.
So long as employers are covered, they are required to abide by federal FMLA and state FMLA laws. For more information on the FMLA, check out the Department of Labors website.
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Applying For Grants You Qualify For
The last step in securing a grant for your new cleaning business is the most important step of all, applying for the grants you qualify for! This is not a step you want to rush through. If your applications are not complete and accurate, you will take the chance of not qualifying for the grant and not receiving financial assistance.
The two most important factors in applying for grants is making sure all your information is correct and ensuring that everything is filled out completely. If any of the information you include about your business is not accurate, you can end up being disqualified from receiving the grant.
It is important to read all the small details to make sure that you are sending everything that is required. It is common for grants to request additional documents or certificates along with your application. You want to take the time to make sure that youve included everything that is required for the specific grant youre applying for. Keep in mind that every grant will be different regarding what they require you to turn in.
We recommend having your business plan completed prior to sending in grant applications. It can be common for programs to require your business plan when you turn in your documents to help them easily evaluate your business.
Covid Small Business Relief: Loans And Grants
Depending on the size of your small business, you may be qualified for certain loans and grants on both the federal and state level.
What is considered a small business?
Small businesses are defined based on what type of industry they belong to. To determine if your business is considered to be a small business by the Small Business Administration, visit the SBA Size Standards webpage.
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Using The Right Websites To Locate Grants
Once you have decided that you will find the time to look for business grants, the next step is ensuring you are using accurate websites to locate your grants. You want to be aware that you may run across websites advertising that they will help you find grants, but some of these sites may be a scam and not safe to use.
There are three leading websites we recommend checking first that will be trustworthy:
These websites all offer several grants. You wont be qualified for all of them, but you are likely to find some grants that you will qualify for. You need to thoroughly check these sites to find the grants that apply to your business specifically.
The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance has a full list of federal programs available for all types of organizations and businesses. You will be surprised by the number of grants available through the federal government! For this site, you want to be prepared to look through a very extensive list of the grants available in order to find grants you can apply for.
The Small Business Administration program has options for partial grant financing, which is provided through private institutions. These are not funded by the federal government. One thing to keep in mind about the SBA is they are also a resource if youre looking into small business loans. They will have resources available youll want to check out if you are going in the loan direction.
Getting A Small Business Loan Should Be Easy Now It Is
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SBAExpress.Loans is driven by the goal of providing a transparent understanding of the SBA Express loan process and documentation requirements for small business owners looking for fast access to capital to help them grow their businesses.
This website is owned by a private company that offers business advice, information and other services related to multifamily, commercial real estate, and business financing. We have no affiliation with any government agency and are not a lender. We are a technology company that uses software and experience to bring lenders and borrowers together. By using this website, you agree to our use of cookies, our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy. We use cookies to provide you with a great experience and to help our website run effectively.
All users should perform their own due diligence and research. Nothing on this website is an offer or a solicitation for a loan. This website does not endorse or charge you for any service or product. None of the information on this site constitutes legal advice. We are not affiliated with the Small Business Administration . If you need to visit the SBA directly please click here:sba.gov.
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How To Get Grants For Your New Cleaning Business
Many new business owners arent aware that there are grants available to help small businesses, and they are missing out on valuable financial assistance! Not having enough money while starting your new cleaning business can be stressful, but there are grants you may qualify for that will assist you with some of the startup funds youll need. Our guide will help you determine if a grant is a good choice for your new cleaning business.
The process of getting grants for your new cleaning business includes determining if you have the time to look for grants, using the right websites to locate legitimate grants and properly applying for grants that you qualify for.
Small Business Innovation Research Program
This government grant is awarded to businesses making strides in technology innovation. Funds are provided for research and development with additional support being given for the commercialization of the technology or service created.
The grant began in 1982 as a part of the Small Business Innovation Development Act and has provided funding for a variety of companies in the defense, environment and healthcare industries. Funds are obtained from the Federal Research and Development Project. Any small business that is awarded this grant must complete the three phases of the program to receive the full grant award.
- Phase I The budgetary allocation for this phase does not usually exceed $150,000. The Federal Research and Development team determines whether your project is truly viable.
- Phase II The results of Phase I determine the funding requirements for this phase. Funding usually does not exceed $1,000,000 and is dispersed over a two- year period.
- Phase III This is a non-funded phase where the product is commercialized. Other government agencies associated with the project may be the main consumers.
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Find Out What Your Business Is Eligible To Receive
You may be eligible for loans, tax relief and cash grants. Use the business support finder to see what support is available for you and your business.
Local authority allocations added for payments made under the Omicron Hospitality and Leisure Grant and the Additional Restrictions Grant, Top-up Payment 3.
Local authority allocations added for payments made under the Omicron Hospitality and Leisure Grant and the Additional Restrictions Grant, Top-up Payment 3.
Additional Restrictions Support Grant data updated as of 28 November 2021.
Additional Restrictions Grant data up until 29 August 2021 republished: in some instances, the figures in the earlier version were not aligned with the correct Local Authority, but this has now been corrected.
Added the latest estimates by local authorities for payments made under these grant programmes: Additional Restrictions Grant, Restart Grant. Data collection for Restart Grant has now ended.
Added the latest estimates by local authorities for payments made under these grant programmes: Additional Restrictions Grant, Local Restrictions Support Grant / Christmas Support Payment and Restart Grant.
Additional restrictions grant file republished to correct cell formatting error.
Added list of Restart Grant funding allocated to councils to support businesses.
State Offering Grants To Nonprofits And Small Businesses
Charities, faith-based organizations and small businesses now can apply for grants to support COVID-19 response and relief efforts in the state through the Louisiana Nonprofit and Small Business Assistance Program.
Eligible nonprofits include churches and other faith-based organizations, public charities, and groups with federal tax-exempt status, such as 501 organizations.
Nonprofits must use grant funds to provide aid to communities impacted by COVID-19. Priority consideration will be given to nonprofits providing food, employment and education assistance programs.
Small businesses must use awarded money to provide workforce development activities that directly address a negative economic impact of the COVID-19 public health emergency. These activities must involve workforce preparation or improve an individuals employment opportunities by providing academic education, basic education, job readiness training, job search training or vocational, technical or occupational education.
Eligible small businesses must have 50 or fewer full-time or full-time equivalent employees, including those in corporations, limited-liability companies, partnerships and sole proprietorships.
Program guidelines, eligibility requirements and the online grant application are available at www.revenue.louisiana.gov.
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