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.
- 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 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.