Hartford to Open Third Emergency Grant Program to Help Small Businesses

Small businesses in Hartford could get some help through a third emergency grant program.

Nearly $1 million will be made available to help small businesses with flexible funding and grants of up to $7,500 will be available to businesses as funds allow. 

The City of Hartford is partnering with the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, Capital for Change, and several small business technical assistance providers to offer $930,000 to grants for Hartford small businesses, according to the mayor’s office.

Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin’s office said the City is providing $750,000 and the Hartford Foundation will fund the remaining $180,000. 

This round will open for applications on Wednesday, Aug. 4

The mayor’s office said the Small Business Emergency Assistance Grant Program was created to support small businesses that might struggle to get funding from other federal or state initiatives, or to support cases where the funding is not enough or too restrictive.

“We worked quickly to get small businesses support early in the pandemic, but they still need our help as they recover from the pandemic,” Bronin said in a statement. “We’ve been successful in getting these grants to small businesses who’ve had trouble accessing other programs, and we’re looking forward to providing support to even more Hartford businesses.”

The mayor’s office said the Hartford Foundation funds will be allocated entirely to minority and/or women-owned small businesses or businesses located in lower-income neighborhoods in Hartford. 

This is the third round of the Small Business Emergency Assistance Grant Program and city officials said more than 70 percent of grants in the first two rounds went to minority or women-owned small businesses in Hartford.

Eligibility and How to Apply

Grants of up to $7,500 will be available to businesses as funds allow. 

Eligible businesses must:

• be located within the City of Hartford
• be able to provide at least one federal tax return
• have positive annual revenues not exceeding $500,000 for the submitted tax years
• have an EIN and/or DUNS number, if applicable.  Other eligibility requirements will be available in the grant application. 

Principal owners of multiple businesses will only be eligible for one grant. The mayor’s office said small businesses that received grants in either of the first two rounds will be eligible for this third round of funding.

An application will be accessible on the Capital for Change website, www.capitalforchange.org/starting at 8 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 4 and will close at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 25.

 An application will be accessible on the Capital for Change website, www.capitalforchange.org/starting at 8 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 4 and will close at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 25.

Help Available for Submissions

Interested businesses are encouraged to reach out to the following technical assistance providers for help with their submission. These providers can ensure that businesses are eligible and ready to submit once the application portal opens:

• Blue Hills Civic Association, Vickie Gallon-Clark, (860) 560-7360, clarkv@bluehillscivic.org
• Upper Albany Main Street, Marilyn Risi, (860) 768-5747, risi@hartford.edu
• Upper Albany Merchants Association, Fay Santouse, (860) 532-9574, bandlcleaningservices@gmail.com
• Spanish American Merchants Association (SAMA), Julio Mendoza, (860) 278-5825, julio_mendoza@samact.org
• Entrepreneurial Center, University of Hartford, Sheri McMillen, (860) 768-5652, mcmillen@hartford.edu
• Upper Albany Main Street, Marilyn Risi, (860) 768-5747, risi@hartford.edu
• Upper Albany Merchants Association, Fay Santouse, (860) 532-9574, bandlcleaningservices@gmail.com
• Spanish American Merchants Association (SAMA), Julio Mendoza, (860) 278-5825, julio_mendoza@samact.org
• Entrepreneurial Center, University of Hartford, Sheri McMillen, (860) 768-5652, mcmillen@hartford.edu