The Love Your Local Small Business Grant Program (SMB) is a program created by the NYC Department of Small Business Services (SBS) to help local businesses continue providing the jobs, goods, and services that make our neighborhoods vibrant. The program will select 20 small businesses to each receive an in-depth assessment of their business, one-on-one business consultations and a grant of up to $90,000 to implement recommendations from experts.
ELIGIBILITY
To be considered for a Love Your Local Small Business Grant, applicants must, at least, meet the following criteria:
- Must operate a commercial business
- Must not be in violation of any applicable federal, state, or local law, rule or regulation
- Food businesses subject to inspection by the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene must have an A or B letter grade
- Must be a small business
- Must have been operating in the City for a minimum of three (3) years prior to the date of the application
- Must not operate a Franchise, except Franchises that the Small Business Administration has determined to be small businesses may be eligible
- Must rent current location of operation from an entity or individual that is not affiliated with the applicant
- Must not owe any federal, state or city taxes and must not be delinquent in payments owed to resolve judgement or liens
- All required licenses or permits relating to the business must be current
- Must document that it has experienced at least a 5% increase in costs directly related to operating in rented commercial space within the prior 10 years. Documentation may include, but need not be limited to: lease(s), utility bills, property tax bills, or cancelled checks, which reflect increased rental costs, an increased burden relating to payment of property taxes, or increased utility costs at its current location
If you are ineligible for the program, based on your responses, you will automatically be redirected and the application will end.
THE APPLICATION
To apply for the Love Your Local Small Business Grant Program, you must complete this online application form. The deadline to submit your application has been extended – the deadline for applications is now February 3, 2019.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I know if my business is eligible for the Love Your Local grant program?
To be considered for a NYC Love Your Local Small Business Grant, applicants must, at least, meet the following criteria:
- Must operate a commercial business
- Must not be in violation of any applicable federal, state, or local law, rule or regulation
- Food businesses subject to inspection by the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene must have an A or B letter grade
- Must be a small business [see question below on how a “small business” is defined]
- Must have been operating in the City for a minimum of three years prior to the date of the application
- Must not operate a Franchise, except that Franchises that the Small Business Administration has determined to be small businesses may be eligible [Check the SBA Franchise Directory for more information]
- Must rent current location of operation from an entity or individual that is not affiliated with the applicant [affiliation is defined in the City’s Vendor’s Guide to VENDEX]
- Must not owe any federal, state or city taxes and must not be delinquent in payments owed to resolve judgement or liens
- All required licenses or permits relating to the business must be current
- Must document that it has experienced at least a 5% increase in costs directly related to operating in rented commercial space within the prior 10 years. Documentation may include, but need not be limited to: lease(s), utility bills, property tax bills, or cancelled checks, which reflect increased rental costs, an increased burden relating to payment of property taxes, or increased utility costs at its current location
If you are ineligible for the program based on your responses, you will automatically be redirected and the application will end.
I have a business that is only online / home-based / a pop-up shop. Is this business eligible for a NYC Love Your Local grant?
No. Online businesses, at-home businesses, and pop-up retail or service businesses are not eligible for the program, because these businesses would not have a commercial lease. Having a commercial lease is one of the eligibility requirements for this program.
Are nonprofit entities eligible for the NYC Love Your Local grant program?
No, only commercial businesses are eligible for the program.
Can I start my application now and save my answers to come back later to complete it?
No, the application must be completed in one sitting. It should take about 25 minutes to complete. Below is a list of some information that you will need for your application:
- Business information including corporation name; “doing business as” name; address; and general information on annual revenue, number of employees, years in business
- Tax ID/ EIN number/ Sales Tax ID
- Operating and other license numbers, where applicable
- Lease information including the number of years left on the lease; renewal information; and the approximate rent increase experienced in the last ten (10) years, if any
How will you choose who will receive a grant?
Once the application period closes on February 3, we will vet and score all of the eligible applications based on criteria laid out in the Love Your Local Rule. These criteria include information about the business itself and the neighborhood where it is located. All the information used to vet and score a business comes from that business’s application. The 50 businesses with the highest scores are the program semi-finalists and we will contact them with more information.
Applications close on February 3 – when will I know whether I’ve made it into the program or not?
It will take some time to vet and score all of the applications we receive. We expect to notify all semi-finalists by early March.
How do you define a “small business”?
The City generally uses the same definition of a “small business” that is used by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). You can find out if your business qualifies as a small business by using this tool provided by the SBA. The SBA tool will ask you to enter the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for your industry and provides a search tool that you can use to find the correct code.
I have received funding through a City government grant program before – am I still eligible to participate in the NYC Love Your Local program?
Yes, if you have received funding from a City government program in the past, you are still eligible to participate in the NYC Love Your Local grant program. Receiving City grant funds in the past does not help or hurt your application for the NYC Love Your Local grant program.
