Erie County small business working capital grant program aids small businesses

Maximum assistance available to small business owners up to $10,000; funding available to businesses with five employees or fewer

The Erie County Department of Environment and Planning, in conjunction with the Erie County Business Task Force, continues to boost small business in Erie County with the small business working capital grant program, providing microenterprises with five employees or fewer up to $10,000 in grant funds to assist business in recovery.

The Erie County Community Development Consortium, comprised of 34 local municipalities of various sizes, received $4,326,655 in Community Development Block Grant funds in 2020 from the federal CARES Act to be used in part to assist small businesses through this program.

“The small business working capital grant program is another way that we are working to help small businesses in Erie County, giving them a small amount of Community Development Block Grant funding that can be used for anything the business needs, including working capital or equipment,” Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said. “Small businesses have been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, and Erie County, the ECIDA and the business task force are teaming up and offering assistance where possible.”

The small business working capital grant program provides a grant of up to $10,000 to small businesses that have suffered loss of revenue due to the pandemic. Eligible businesses include those who employ five or fewer employees and whose household income is below HUD Section 8 income guidelines. $450,000 in Community Development Block Grant funding through the federal CARES Act is available to assist small businesses through this grant fund.

Businesses in the cities of Lackawanna and Tonawanda; the towns of Alden, Aurora, Boston, Brant, Clarence, Colden, Collins, Concord, Eden, Elma, Evans, Grand Island, Holland, Lancaster, Marilla, Newstead, North Collins, Orchard Park, Sardinia, Wales; and West Seneca, and the villages of Akron, Angola, Depew, East Aurora, Farnham, Gowanda, Lancaster, North Collins, Orchard Park and Springville are eligible for this funding. These municipalities are located within the Erie County CDBG consortium.

The Erie County Community Development Consortium is comprised of municipalities that receive HUD funding through CDBG, HOME and ESG grants to assist low-income residents. Grant allocations are awarded to Erie County because the population of the 34 in the consortium is over 200,000.

Funding for these community development grants is directly distributed by HUD to municipalities in Erie County with a population of more than 50,000. In Erie County, the towns of Amherst, Tonawanda, Cheektowaga and Hamburg, and the City of Buffalo, receive these community development grants directly from HUD.

For more information on the small business working capital grant program, click here.