The Right Place, Inc. distributes over $9M in emergency grant funds
The Right Place and its regional partners were responsible for distributing funds to support qualifying small businesses within 11 of the 13 counties of West Michigan's ProsperityRegion#4: Barry, Ionia, Kent, Lake, Mason, Mecosta, Montcalm, Muskegon, Newaygo, Oceana, and Osceola Counties. Grant funds for Ottawa and Allegan Counties were administered separately by Lakeshore Advantage. Each county assembled a local review committee to accept, review, and approve applications from affected businesses. The size of the committees varied and were composed of both public and private economic development partners. Collaborative partners included local economic development organizations, municipalities, counties, Downtown Development Authorities, chambers of commerce, minority associations and chambers, local banks and f inance professionals, community foundations, and others. The Kent County review committee was co-chaired by Guillermo Cisneros of the West Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and Jamiel Robinson of Grand Rapids Area Black Businesses.
In late September, The Right Place, Inc., in collaboration with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) and regional partners, announced that 1,060 small businesses have been awarded over $9M in grant funding. These grants were awarded to eligible West Michigan small businesses who have been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Funding for the grants was provided by MEDC via the Michigan Small Business Restart Program. These grants are designed to provide eligible small businesses with working capital to support payroll expenses, rent, mortgage payments, utility expenses, or other similar expenses that occur in the ordinary course of business. Demand for funding far exceeded available funds, with 2,995 applicants requesting over $50M in support throughout the region. In Kent County, 73% of the funding was awarded to women, veteran, and minority-owned businesses. Throughout the 11-county region, 66% of the funding was awarded to women, veteran, or minority-owned businesses.
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SMALL BUSINESS RESTART GRANT
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