Grant Spotlight: Backing Small Businesses Grant Program

Occasionally on Rural Resurrection, we spotlight a few grants that are available to rural communities throughout the Midwest. Usually, we are talking about a specific project and mention how a grant has helped that project become a reality. But sometimes, the grants themselves need attention.

Not all grants highlighted on Rural Resurrection are specifically for municipalities. Rural communities rely on small businesses for their own economic stability. It is vitally important for community leaders to know what resources are available to help businesses out. Helping small businesses in your community helps the community as a whole to survive and thrive as those businesses provide the jobs that keep the economy flowing.

What kinds of projects will the Backing Small Businesses Grants fund?

Through the Backing Small Business Grants, eligible small business owners can apply for $10,000 in grants for projects that “grow or improve their businesses by building community, supporting their economic viability, or bolstering meaningful change.”

Of the 500 recipients selected for $10,000 grants, a limited subset of 25 recipients will be awarded $30,000 Enhancement Grants. The Enhancement Grants will allow those business owners the opportunity to create transformative change within their businesses and in their communities. For example, by giving back, partnering with community members, addressing cultural, environmental, and/​or access needs in their community, opening a new location, and/​or adding staffing.

Recipients of the $10,000 grant will be required to submit a final grant report using a template provided. In addition to questions regarding the completed project, the report will include prompts on how the business would use the $30,000 Enhancement Grant. Enhancement Grant project proposals can be related to the $10,000 grant proposal or they may constitute a separate project.

Get Started Now

The grant application period typically opens in mid-March and goes into early April. However, there is an application limit each year, and the application period will end once that limit is reached. So make sure you apply early!

To learn more about the grant, check out the American Express web page about it.

Grants featured in Grant Spotlight posts are also on the Rural Resurrection Tool Kit page. For more grant opportunities, check out the Tool Kit page.