It’s not certain whether the City of Amsterdam will get the grant or not, however the Montgomery County Business Development Center (MCBDC) is looking to collect pre-applications from local small businesses in hopes of bolstering its case for the New York State Office for Housing and Community Renewal to award the city with a $200,000 microenterprise grant.
Danielle Whelly, economic development specialist with the MCDBC, explained on Thursday, “The state wants to see a need for the program, a high interest level, and the capacity to hit the ground running if awarded.”
According to the application form, if the grant is awarded, the MCBDC would look to distribute grants ranging from $5,000 to $25,000 to as many as 18 small businesses in the city. The grants could be used as working capital for equipment, inventory, or to create new jobs, but cannot be used for construction or purchase of real estate. In order to qualify, a business must be based in the City of Amsterdam and have no more than five employees.
The application also stipulates that the grant must either benefit a businesses owner from a “low-to-moderate-income” (LMI) family or must create at least one full-time (or full time equivalent) job that benefits a person who qualifies as LMI.
In the application, businesses must outline how they will use the grant money, and show that they can contribute at least 20% to the cost of the project.
According to Whelly, the grant will reimburse businesses for expenses related to their project over the course of two years.
The deadline for pre-application submissions is July 25.
Click here to download the pre-application form
Featured photo (c) Can Stock Photo
