Small Business Assistance Grant Program

Introduction

The Village of Mount Prospect is accepting applications for relief funds to support local small businesses hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Qualified businesses can request up to $10,000 to reimburse the costs of business interruption caused by COVID-19 mandated closures and social distancing requirements. Eligible expenses include payroll/wages of low- and moderate-income employees, mortgage/rent of commercial space, and PPE and supplies to operate business safely in accordance with COVID guidelines. Businesses receiving assistance must be able to create or retain at least one low- or moderate-income job (as defined by HUD).

Available Funding

The Village of Mount Prospect received a special allocation of Community Development Block Grant Coronavirus (CDBG‐CV) funds to be used to prevent, prepare for, and respond to the Coronavirus. This special allocation was authorized by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) signed into law on March 27, 2020. $240,000 in CDBG-CV funds is available to eligible businesses through the CDBG-CV Small Business Assistance Program. 

Business Eligibility

• Located in a commercial space within the corporate limits of the Village of Mount Prospect.
• Funding will help retain or create at least one full-time equivalent (FTE) low- or moderate-income job, as defined by HUD.
• The job retained or created has an annualized gross salary of less than $51,000.
• The employee must be on the payroll as a W-2 worker to qualify. 
• Non-essential business whose operations were interrupted or prohibited by a Gubernatorial Executive Order, such as Executive Order 2020-10.
• A for-profit business that is not part of a retail chain. 
• If a locally-owned franchise, cannot have received COVID-19-related corporate financial assistance.
• Continuously licensed with the Village since March 2020 and in good standing at the time of the award.
• No active lawsuits, judgments, or liens filed against the business.
• Not operating in violation of federal, state, or local laws.
• No bankruptcy or foreclosure within the last six months. 
• Must disclose any capital applied for or received through alternative sources, including government, non-profit, or charitable relief 
• Not on the list of ineligible businesses 

Eligible Use of Funds

Small Business Assistance Program funds may be used to reimburse the following activities:

• Payroll/wages of low- and moderate-income employees
• Mortgage/rent of commercial space
• PPE and supplies to operate business safely in accordance with COVID guidelines

Ineligible Use of Funds

CDBG Small Business Assistance Program funds may NOT be used for:

• Any expenses that are not related to the prevention of, preparation for, or response to the Coronavirus.
• Supplanting or substituting expenses currently paid for by other government, non-profit, or charitable sources.
• Purchase of equipment, construction, or expansion-related costs, unless it is specifically related in response to COVID-19.

Submission Guidelines

All applications must follow the formatting described below or be subject to penalty points:

• Only one application per business will be accepted;
• Required and supporting documents shall be labeled. Extraneous information will not be considered;
• Required documents must be attached to this application;
• The full application with signature must be submitted online to the Center of Concern.

Applications will be accepted in order of completion. The date and time of application submittal will be used to determine the order of completion.

Deadlines

 The application will open on Tuesday, June 1, 2021, at 9:00 a.m. and will be open until all funds have been expended.

Forms

The application cannot be saved to continue at another time. Once you start you must finish. Your application will not be saved once you start.  We strongly recommend you download a copy of the PDF application here and have the requested attachments, completed and ready to attach before you begin the online application.  

• Income Verification Form 
• Use of Grant Funds Form
• Cares Act and Other Funds Received Form
• Applicant Certification Form

Additional forms needed to upload within the application will include:

• W-9 Form
• Tax Forms:
• If Individual (Sole Proprietors and individual/single-owner LLCs): 2019 Schedule C (Form 1040) OR If no 2019 Schedule C is available, provide 2018 Schedule C (Form 1040) and most recent Annual or Quarterly Balance Sheet or Profit & Loss Statement.
• If Corporations (C-Corps, S-Corps, corporate Limited Liability Corporations (LLCs): 2019 Corporation Income Tax Return (Form 1120 or Form 1120-S OR If no 2019 tax return is available, provide 2018 tax return and Annual or Quarterly Balance Sheet or Profit & Loss Statement.
• if Partnerships: 2019 Return of Partnership Income (Form 1065) OR If no 2019 tax return is available, provide 2018 tax return and Annual or Quarterly Balance Sheet or Profit & Loss Statement W3 Summary, 1096 (from 2019) or IRS FORM 941 (from 1st quarter 2020 or, if not completed, 4th quarter 2019). Sole proprietors may complete and attach a certification stating that business owner is the sole proprietor with no additional employees or subcontracted workers.
• Staffing Documentation (W-3 Summary, 1096 OR 2019 IRS FORM 941, Payrolls)

D-U-N-S Number (https://fedgov.dnb.com/webform/). The D-U-N-S Number is a nine-digit non-indicative numbering sequence and is assigned at the lowest organizational level, i.e. business locations with a unique, separate, and distinct operation. The D-U-N-S Number is assigned to all types of business organizations including sole proprietorships, corporations, partnerships, non-profits, and government entities. The D-U-N-S Number is constant it stays with a business throughout the lifecycle including name, address and corporate structure changes, and even bankruptcy. The D-U-N-S Number is not just a number it is a system for maintaining accurate, comprehensive, and timely information and it is issued rapidly and free of charge for all entities wanting to do business with the U.S. Federal Government.

SAM (https://www.sam.gov/SAM/). The System for Award Management (SAM) is an official website of the U.S. government. There is no cost to use SAM. You can use this site for FREE to register to do business with the U.S. government, Update or renew your entity registration, Check the status of an entity registration, and Search for entity registration and exclusion record.

Reservation of Rights

The Village of Mount Prospect reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to award all, a portion, or none of the available CDBG-CV funding, and may reject any and all applications based on the quality and/or merits of the application, or when it is determined to be in the public interest to do so. Furthermore, the Village may extend deadlines and timeframes, as needed.

The Village of Mount Prospect reserves the right to substantiate any applicant’s qualifications, financial information, the capability to perform, and availability.

The Village of Mount Prospect reserves the right to waive any informalities in the application, to accept any application or portion thereof, and, to reject any and all applications, should it be in the best interest of the Village to do so.

Post Award and Sub-Recipient Criteria

All awards are subject to the Village’s receipt of its CDBG-CV appropriation from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. All awards are subject to pre-contract negotiations with the recipient. The Village of Mount Prospect is committed to monitoring the performance of grant recipients to ensure that Federal funds are used appropriately and in a manner to maximize low and moderate-income public benefit. Monitoring each grant recipient ensures that the goals and objectives identified within the Village’s HUD Action and Consolidated Plan are met.

Recipients that do not comply with the Post-Award and Sub-Recipient Criteria will forfeit their award of CDBG-CV funds. The forfeited funds will be then returned to the CDBG-CV program for reallocation.