Helping Minority-Owned Micro-Businesses Weather the Storm
To help ethnic minority-owned micro-businesses cope with the economic impact of COVID-19, the Ethnic Minority Emergency Grant Initiative is being launched with a total of $2 million to be made available to 1,000 Wisconsin micro-businesses.
A business may apply for a one-time grant of $2,000 for short-term operations assistance through Wisconsin’s Collective Ethnic and Diverse Organizations. Applicants will be subject to underwriting, and grant recipients will be required to submit a report indicating how the funds were used. Applications will be accepted from May 18-24, 2020.
Eligible applicants are minority-owned businesses with five or fewer full-time equivalent employees (including the owner) in the retail, service or hospitality sectors that have not received assistance through WEDC’s Small Business 20/20 Program or the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) through the federal CARES Act.
For frequently asked questions, view the program overview.
Before you get started, please have the following documents ready:
- 2018 or 2019 federal tax return (If you started your business in 2020, you are not eligible for this grant)
- W-9 form, found at www.irs.gov – please be sure the W9 is signed before submission
- Proof of being in business as of Feb. 29, 2020. Some examples of documentation include:
- Profit and loss (P&L) statement for the month of February 2020; or
- Payroll records for February 2020; or
- Sales tax log for the month of February 2020
