The state’s lead economic development organization, Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC), will begin accepting online applications for its We’re All In small business grant program at 8:00 a.m. on Monday, June 15, 2020. The application process ends at 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, June 21st.
Governor Tony Evers announced the $75 million small business grant program in mid-May. It was largely funded by federal dollars received by Wisconsin through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, passed and signed into law in late March 2020.
The cash grants will assist Wisconsin’s small businesses with the costs of business interruption or for health and safety improvements, wages and salaries, rent, mortgages, and inventory.
An estimated 30,000 businesses with 20 or fewer full-time employees will qualify for the $2,500 grants.
Businesses may apply for the grants if they:
-Were in business as of February;
-Are Wisconsin-based and for-profit.
-Employ 20 or fewer full-time equivalent employees, including the owner.
-Have more than $0 but less than $1 million in annual revenues.
National chains are ineligible unless the businesses are third-party franchises.
Agriculture industries and landlords covered by other CARES Act-funded programs are not eligible. These are crop production, animal production or aquaculture, and lessors of residential buildings and dwellings.
More information can be found at wedc.org/WAI-Small-Business-Grant.
