According to information available at: https://www.empoweringsmallbusiness.org/covid-19-response/covid-19-grants-massachusetts-small-businesses , the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has made $50.8 million in grants available to support small businesses, microenterprises, and their employees, families and communities. Massachusetts Growth Capital Corporation (MGCC) will be administering these funds to businesses experiencing economic hardship and a loss of income due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
No one is sure how much of this grant most dentists can expect to receive based on the following:
Grant funding is intended to help businesses adversely impacted by the pandemic. Preference will be given to small businesses whose owners are women, minorities, veterans, members of other underrepresented groups, who are focused on serving the Gateway Cities of Massachusetts, and those most negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Preference will also be given to applicants that have not been able to receive aid from other federal programs related to COVID-19.
Gateway Cities: Wondering which cities are Gateway Cities? According to MassInc at: https://massinc.org/our-work/policy-center/gateway-cities/about-the-gateway-cities/:
Gateway Cities are midsize urban centers that anchor regional economies around the state. For generations, these communities were home to industry that offered residents good jobs and a “gateway” to the American Dream. Over the past several decades, manufacturing jobs slowly disappeared. Lacking resources and capacity to rebuild and reposition, Gateway Cities have been slow to draw new economy investment.
The Legislature defines 26 Gateway Cities in the Commonwealth, which are Attleboro, Barnstable, Brockton, Chelsea, Chicopee, Everett, Fall River, Fitchburg, Haverhill, Holyoke, Lawrence, Leominster, Lowell, Lynn, Malden, Methuen, New Bedford, Peabody, Pittsfield, Quincy, Revere, Salem, Springfield, Taunton, Westfield, and Worcester.
The program offers two types of grants – one of which is for businesses with 50 or fewer employees. For this grant, businesses can receive up to $75,000 but capped at up to 3 months of operating expenses, as evidenced by your business’ 2019 Federal Tax Returns. Grant amounts will be considered for actual expenses for 2020 during the pandemic. The funds can be used for employee payroll and benefit costs, mortgage interest, rent, utilities and interest on other debt obligations.
More info is available at: https://schwartzaccountants.com/2020/10/massachusetts-announces-covid-19-grants-for-small-businesses/, or apply at: https://massgcc3.submittable.com/submit/177585/small-business-grants-for-50-or-fewer-employees. As always, feel free to submit this online application on your own. Or we can submit the application on your behalf for a fee of $500 per application filed.