Newburg | CPA (9/9/21)

The City of Boston launched two Small Business grants for small businesses in the City of Boston to aid and support business owners and workers in their reopening and recovery from COVID-19.

The Small Business grants include the following:

  • Small Business Relief Fund 2.0

The Small Business Relief Fund 2.0 (SBRF 2.0) will reopen the Small Business Relief Fund initially launched in April 2020. The SBRF 2.0 will issue grants up to $20,000 to small businesses. These grants would be designed to help businesses in the hardest hit industries cover all business expenses to help their recovery and growth. To date, the Small Business Fund has issued $6.7 million in grants to more than 1,850 businesses. Applicants will be invited to apply in one consolidated application for two different funding options:

  1. Relief Grant: up to $10,000 in grant funding to support outstanding debts for rent/mortgage, inventory, payroll, or fixed expenses; and/or
  2. Growth Grant: up to $10,000 in grant funding to support business growth through tools, technology, materials, personnel, or other costs associated with investing in the growth of the business.
  • Restaurant Revitalization Fund

The new Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF), a three-month pilot program in partnership with the Mayor’s Office of Workforce Development (OWD), will provide a much-needed lifeline to restaurants as they recover from COVID-19.

The three key components of the RRF are:

  • Grants: restaurant business owners may be eligible for both of these grant funds:
    • All Restaurants: a $5,000 grant for business expenses including rent, payroll, or inventory;
    • Restaurants with Tipped Employees: a $15,000 grant to increase payroll for tipped employees to $12.75 per hour as a part of the One Fair Wage initiative;
  • Employee Incentives: a $900 retention bonus to attract and retain restaurant workers for new and existing employees that continue employment at the small business for the continuous pilot 3-month period; tuition assistance for college or training programs to those retained workers for two years while working at a restaurant; and 100 B-Local Points per employee for each month of continuous employment during the pilot program.
  • Marketing Campaign: a public awareness campaign featuring RRF restaurants as “champion” employers offering good wages and benefits. The campaign aims to attract workers across the restaurant industry in Boston. A public Request for Proposals (RFP) from qualified marketing consultants will be released by the Office of Economic Development in September 2021. The RFP will be available on the City of Boston Supplier Portal.

To apply, eligible business must:

  1. Be a current food business in the City of Boston (Required for Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) only)
  2. Have a valid Vendor ID from the City of Boston
  3. Have less than 25 employees
  4. Have proof of a Boston business address (for example, a signed lease, business permit, license, or title, a utility bill in which the business is named directly, or other home office documentation)
  5. Be in good-standing with the City of Boston, along with the business owner
  6. Provide a copy of its up-to-date Business Certificate, and
  7. Provide proof of payroll (for example, a recent pay or wage statement, bank statement, or proof of paystubs) if there are more than two employees.

Online Applications

Business owners can visit boston.gov/small-business for more information and eligibility criteria.

If you need assistants with any of these programs, Newburg | CPA can help. Call us at (781) 884-4100, and one of our dedicated and knowledgeable team members can facilitate.