MADISON — The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) will provide a second round of We’re All In Small Business Grants to distribute an additional $50 million to small businesses hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Tony Evers announced Oct. 6.
The first phase of the program provided more than $65 million in grants to over 26,000 businesses statewide this summer. Despite the infusion of federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act funds distributed by WEDC, however, many Wisconsin small businesses continue to struggle. The new round aims to provide grants of $5,000 each to 10,000 additional Wisconsin small businesses.
“Wisconsin’s small businesses have demonstrated unbelievable creativity and ingenuity in adapting to the pandemic,” said WEDC Secretary and CEO Missy Hughes. “But what we’re hearing from many of them is that they’re already stretched to the limit and are concerned what the next few months will hold.”
Applications for the grants will open at 8 a.m. Oct. 19 and close at 11:59 p.m. Nov. 2. As with the previous round of We’re All In Grants, awards will not be made on a first-come, first-served basis.
Businesses that received funds under the first round of We’re All In Grants, as well as the Ethnic Minority Emergency Grant program, are also eligible for the second round of We’re All In Grants. Priority will be given to businesses that have not previously received funds from either of the first two programs, those with ethnically diverse ownership, and those in the hardest-hit sectors, such as restaurants and taverns, hair and nail salons and barber shops, and other services.
The grants will be administered by the Wisconsin Department of Revenue in partnership with WEDC. Learn more about the program and apply at revenue.wi.gov.
To be eligible for the second round of We’re All In Grants, an applicant must: be a Wisconsin-based, for-profit business; in 2019, have 75% or more of company labor costs in Wisconsin and 75% of their assets in Wisconsin; earn more than $0 and less than $1 million in annual revenues (gross sales and receipts); started operating prior to Jan. 1, 2020, seasonal businesses should use the highest total FTEs employed during the season and have filed their 2019 taxes.
For this round, We’re All In Grants will be administered by the Department of Revenue in partnership with WEDC.
Before applying for the grants, applicants should familiarize themselves with the eligibility requirements and limitations as well as the information and documentation required to apply. This information, along with the grant application, can be found at revenue.wi.gov. If you cannot apply online, you may request assistance by calling the Wisconsin Department of Revenue at 608-266-2772.
The second round of We’re All In Grants is the latest effort by WEDC to assist small businesses in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. WEDC distributed more than $65 million in CARES Act funding to nearly 26,000 businesses under the first round of We’re All In Grants this summer. Additionally, WEDC provided $2 million in state funds to diverse businesses under the Ethnic Minority Emergency Grant program and $5 million to microbusinesses through the Small Business 20/20 program.