Milwaukee Business Restart Grant applications due Friday, small businesses eligible for up to $15K

MILWAUKEE -- Small businesses can apply for City of Milwaukee’s Business Restart Grants until 5 p.m Friday, June 12 through the online portal at Milwaukee.gov/restart.

A news release says the Milwaukee Business Restart Program is designed to get City small businesses up and running following setbacks associated with the current COVID-19 pandemic. Grants will be available to businesses established before the end of 2019 with annualized revenue of less than $2 million and 20 or fewer full-time-equivalent employees.

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett announced the program earlier in May.  The Milwaukee Business Restart Program will be funded with a total of $20-million in federal CARES Act money allocated to the City of Milwaukee.

So far, hundreds of applications have been submitted, and hundreds more have started the process.  Businesses from all across Milwaukee, including businesses in every aldermanic district, have applied.

Individual small businesses located within the City of Milwaukee will be eligible for up to $15-thousand each for expenses in three categories:

There will be additional limitations of what business costs will be eligible for grant allocations.  While the grants are not designed to compensate businesses for damage sustained in civil disturbances, those businesses will be eligible for costs associated with restarting following COVID-19 public health orders.

All finalized grant requests will be reviewed following the close of the application period on June 12th at 5:00pm irrespective of when the application was submitted.

The Department of City Development, with the cooperation of the Milwaukee Economic Development Corporation, plans to start distributing grants as soon as possible after the close of the application window.

All businesses in Milwaukee, including grant recipients, will be expected to follow directives from the Milwaukee Health Department to reduce exposure and transmission of COVID-19.  A city website, milwaukee.gov/businessresourcesforCOVID19 , lists other resources available to local businesses.