Berlin, Vt. - Governor Phil Scott and the Agency of Commerce and Community Development (ACCD) offered additional details today about the upcoming Business Emergency Grant Assistance Program. The $20 million program will assist businesses and not-for-profit entities that sustained physical damage in the flood reopen and bring their employees back to work.
“My team and I are committed to doing whatever we can to support businesses who were impacted by historic flooding,” said Governor Scott. “We know this $20 million won’t be enough, but I believe the State has a responsibility to step up and do what it can while we work to secure additional support for the small businesses that fuel our economy and make our communities strong.”
The Department of Economic Development (DED) is administering the program and has been working to create grant guidance and parameters, build out the grant application portal, and put staff in place to run that program and help answer questions businesses may have.
When the program opens, businesses will be eligible for a grant of 20% of the net documented uncovered damage to their physical property up to a maximum of $20,000. For properties that sustained more than a million dollars of damage, grant amounts may exceed the $20,000 cap. Those grants will be 20% of net documented uncovered physical damage up to $500,000 based on the number of employees and total damage they sustained. Of the $20 million, $1 million will be administered by the Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets and dedicated specifically to agricultural businesses.
“The need is great in our business community and though gaps will remain even after these grants are dispersed, this program is a start of the recovery process,” said DED Commissioner Joan Goldstein. “This is the first of many steps we will need to take to try to bridge gaps during this on-going recovery. We are trying to cast a wide net and get as many businesses as we can some form of gap funding.”
Physical losses and damage can include physical space and/or replacements of inventory, machinery, equipment, and supplies. Business should collect photographs, insurance adjuster damage assessments, estimates for repairs to physical structures, tax returns, equipment, inventory, or supply purchases, actual paid expenses and other documents as requested.
Additional details about the grant program and how it will work are expected to be released on Monday, July 31, and the application portal is expected to open later that week.