The current pandemic and necessary resulting public safety measures have taken a toll on businesses of many kinds in the State of Vermont, including Sole Proprietors. In order to provide some relief to the economic pain that Sole Proprietors have had to endure, the launch of an economic relief grant program has been announced which will provide grants of $5,000, $7,500 or $10,000 to qualifying Sole Proprietors through a Lottery draw. The program is funded through $1.5 million from the U.S. Housing and Urban Development’s CDBG Program, and passed through the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development (ACCD). The application window will open Monday, July 20, 2020 and grants will be awarded through a lottery system on August 14, 2020.
Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation (BDCC) will be administering funds for the counties of Windham, Bennington, Rutland, Addison, Washington, and Lamoille. Two Rivers Ottauquechee Regional Commission (TRORC) will be administering funds for the counties of Windsor, Orange, Caledonia, Essex, Orleans, Franklin, Grand Isle, and Chittenden. This Program will use the Vermont based software development firm, Storm Petrel, LLC, and its Tempest-GEMS grant management application.
Among eligibility criteria businesses must:
- Be a Sole Proprietor, do not issue W-2s to any employees.
- Be a for-profit entity.
- Have a physical establishment (mailing address only is not sufficient) in the Vermont city/town of application.
- Provide goods or services to multiple clients or customers.
- Have annual gross revenues greater than $25,000.
- Have been legally established prior to or as of January 1, 2020.
Program breakdown, full eligibility requirements, application materials and timelines, as well as technical assistance and FAQs can be found at: https://www.vermont-cdbg-cv.com/
This program requires an applicant to have a DUNS # prior to registration for access to the grant management application. To request a free DUNS # go to https://www.dnb.com/. Potential applicants who meet all program criteria are strongly encouraged to start the DUNS # application process prior to the pre-application start date of July 20, 2020.
The registration window will be open from July 20, 2020 until July 27, 2020 and the Grant Application submission window will be open from July 20, 2020 until July 31, 2020. The lottery will take place on August 14, 2020.