SOMERVILLE, MA — The Town of Somerville has introduced that its Small Enterprise Restoration Fund has opened for a second round of funding.
The fund supplies funds to support local corporations as they recuperate from the ongoing impacts of the pandemic.
Programs for the newest spherical of funding are obtainable on line until March 21.
In accordance to city officers, there is roughly $500,000 readily available in the most current round of funding, which is dispersed in the type of forgivable loans value up to $15,000 for brick-and-mortar companies and $5,000 for home-centered organizations or unbiased contractors.
To qualify, enterprises need to be situated inside Somerville, have 20 or less staff members and be equipped to reveal that revenue has declined in latest decades.
Because the first round of funding, which distributed $1.4 million concerning November 2022 and January 2023, the metropolis has expanded the group of House-Centered Businesses to Residence-Based mostly Firms/Unbiased Contractors.
Now, independent contractors are eligible for $5,000 via the method as prolonged as they have a legitimate business license and can exhibit they have been working in Somerville considering that at least April 1, 2021.
Illustrations of unbiased contractors incorporate: personal consulting techniques, freelance writers and barbers who hire chairs at a barbershop that they will not personal.
“Each working day, whether I am getting a morning coffee, obtaining my family’s groceries, or picking up my dog’s favourite treats, I am constantly influenced by the passion and ingenuity of Somerville’s tiny company neighborhood, but the pandemic has produced difficult troubles,” Somerville Mayor Katjana Ballantyne mentioned. “By reopening the Little Business Restoration Fund we aim to strategically target support to regional business entrepreneurs that will aid them on the street to recovery.”
In accordance to Somerville officials, if the metropolis gets additional apps than the software can fund, candidates will acquire priority based mostly on standards like not possessing been given former rounds of COVID-linked funding or being a girls or minority-owned business enterprise.
Metropolis officials said that all through the first spherical of funding, far more than 75 percent of programs had been obtained from organizations that were girls or minority-owned.
In a release, Somerville officers also mentioned that several of the city’s local community companions are available to enable small business proprietors complete their funding applications, together with: the SomerViva Office environment of Immigrant Affairs (Portuguese, Spanish, Haitian Creole, Chinese, Nepali), Somerville Major Streets (English), Union Sq. Key Streets (Spanish, English) and iParametrics (Spanish, Portuguese, English).
Far more details about the funding, like programs, can be attained by contacting iParametrics at 617-863-2160.
