West Central Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission Administering Microenterprise Grants

Tuesday, May 25th, 2021 -- 2:00 PM

West Central Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission is the regional administrator of the West Central Wisconsin Microenterprise Grant Program.

The Microenterprise Grant Program provides $5,000 grants to eligible businesses negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. To qualify for a $5,000 grant, a business must be small, defined as five or fewer employees including the owner and all employees, regardless of full-time or part-time status, are included in the employee count.

Also, they must be located in West Central Wisconsin, inclusive of businesses located in the counties of Barron, Chippewa, Clark, Dunn, Eau Claire (excluding the City of Eau Claire), Polk, and St. Croix; and established prior to February 5th of 2020 (the date of the first confirmed COVID-19 case in Wisconsin).

Also, owned by a person of qualifying income and, if there are multiple owners of the business, the majority (51% or more) of the owners must meet the income eligibility requirements, so, for example, if there are two owners of the business, both owners must meet the income eligibility requirements and qualifying incomes are detailed in the application package.

Additional eligibility requirements include only one grant allowed per family; only one grant allowed per business; business owners must be current on income and property taxes; and ineligible entities include units of government and businesses primarily engaged in crop production, animal production or aquaculture, lessors of real estate, or nonprofit organizations.

Grant funds must reimburse working capital needs resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Some examples include operating expenses such as payroll, rent, mortgage, insurance, utilities, inventory, professional fees, and COVID-19 related expenses such as protective equipment.

The complete application, including instructions, is available for download at www.wcwrpc.org. Applications will only be accepted by email during the Application Acceptance Period beginning at 12:00 p.m. on Tuesday, June 1st and ending at 12:00 p.m. on Tuesday, June 15th.

Applications will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis depending on the demand. For questions on the program of application please contact Tobi LeMahieu at 715.836.2918 ext. 19 or [email protected].

Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.