(WASHINGTON, DC) – Today, the Bowser Administration, through the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development (DMPED), announced that the Legacy Business Supplemental Fund will designate $3.25 million of remaining funds from the Small Business Recovery Microgrants Program to support DC legacy businesses.
“Throughout the public health emergency, the Bowser Administration has committed to ensuring every dollar we can dedicate to business support gets into the business community,” said Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development John Falcicchio. “And we are providing this support to our legacy businesses that have long served our residents, and are part of the very character and culture of our neighborhoods and communities.”
Through the Small Business Recovery Microgrants Program notification process, some businesses were ineligible or decided to not accept the funds. This created a pool of funds that DMPED is utilizing to further support legacy businesses with supplemental microgrants. This supplemental microgrant, awarded to 781 businesses, will provide relief to businesses and nonprofits that previously received the Small Business Recovery Microgrant and have served District residents for at least 20 years as of March 2020.
Award amounts are the same across all legacy small businesses and nonprofits, at approximately $4,160 per organization. All District legacy businesses that qualify for this grant program have been contacted about next steps. Disbursement of funds will occur after the submittal of all required information. Eligible expenses include wages and benefits, accounts payable, fixed costs, inventory, rent, and utilities.
DMPED will work with The Washington Area Community Investment Fund (WACIF), City First Enterprises (CFE), Life Asset, Industrial Bank, and Latino Economic Development Center (LEDC) to disburse the remaining funds.
Since the COVID-19 public health emergency began in March, the District has made available a number of funding opportunities to support small and local businesses and nonprofits, including the DC Small Business Microgrant Program, the Small Business Resiliency Fund and the DC Child Care Provider Relief Fund. For more information on the Legacy Business Supplemental Fund, visit coronavirus.dc.gov/recovery.