CITY OF BOSTON WILL REPLENISH SMALL BUSINESS RELIEF FUND

The fund is meant to assist businesses with recovery expenses and help them grow beyond the pandemic

Mayor Michelle Wu announced on Jan. 18 that the City will contribute $5 million to the Small Business Relief Fund 2.0. The funds are intended to support a new 300, local, small businesses across Boston. Applications will become available in February. In addition, the City will partner with small business organizations “to provide technical assistance and long term planning support,” beyond the grant. The Relief Fund was initially launched in April 2020 and was relaunched in Sept. 2021. So far, the Small Business Relief Fund has issued more than $7.5 million in grants to 519 businesses.

“Our small businesses are still struggling from this prolonged pandemic and need continued support. I’m grateful to Chief Idowu and our state and community partners for working quickly to identify potential resources for neighborhood small businesses as we work to build a thriving, inclusive and equitable economy,” said Wu. “The fund’s grants and technical assistance will help small business owners continue to serve their communities and plan ahead as we work to end the ongoing COVID surge.”

“These funds provided the much needed support for our small businesses to not only aid in their recovery, but invest in their long-term growth,” said Segun Idowu, chief of Economic Opportunity and Inclusion. “Replenishing these funds is an important step in ensuring that our businesses are able to keep their doors open as we recover from the pandemic and rebuild our economy.”

Businesses can apply for two types of grants:

Relief Grant: up to $10,000 to support outstanding debts for rent/mortgage payments, inventory, payroll, or fixed expenses.
Growth Grant: up to $10,000 to support business growth through tools, technology, materials, personnel, or other costs associated with investing in the growth of their business.

Restaurants have been hard hit during this stage of the pandemic, as described in Marc Hurwitz’ Dig article. Businesses interested in learning more can find information at this link.

SHIRA LAUCHAROEN

Shira Laucharoen is a reporter based in Boston. She currently serves as the assistant director of the Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism. In the past she has written for Sampan newspaper, The Somerville Times, Scout Magazine, Boston Magazine, and WBUR.