Mayor Arrigo Announces Microenterprise Grant Program to Support Local Businesses and Protect Jobs in Revere

Nearly Half a Million Dollars in Grant Dollars Will Provide Assistance to Small Businesses

  REVERE – Mayor Brian M. Arrigo and the Revere Department of Planning and Community Development (DPCD) this week announced $415,000 in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding to establish a Microenterprise Grant Program. The program is aimed at microenterprises and aims to help those small entrepreneurs as they withstand the continued pressures of operating in a COVID environment. Micro-enterprises are defined as businesses with no more than five employees – such as hair and nail salons and small family-run operations.

  “The microenterprise grant program is an opportunity to assist our smallest Revere businesses through the third year of the pandemic,” said Mayor Brian Arrigo. “The CDBG program has been instrumental in assisting our business owners – the new microenterprise grant program only furthers this progress and sets a precedent for economic relief in the City of Revere.”

  The maximum grant award for each business is $15,000 to cover up to three months of operating expenses – the average grant is expected to be approximately $10,000.  Applications for this program will be live on January 18 at www.revere.org/smallbusiness and are open until February 8 at 11:59 PM.  Upon the closure of the application period, the City’s DPCD will review applications for completeness, conduct a preliminary eligibility determination, collate materials, and begin the qualitative evaluation process for applicants who meet all deadlines and eligibility requirements. The City’s DPCD reserves the right to deny or defer review to ineligible or incomplete applications.

  DPCD has also outlined a series of resources to support businesses through the application process, including:

• A grant eligibility and application basics webinar will take place on Wednesday, January 19 at 11 AM to answer any questions business owners may have.  Registration is required for this webinar and you can do so atrevere.org/smallbusinessgrant.  Spanish interpretation is available.
• Applications will be available in both English and Spanish. Additional translations may be available upon request.
• In-person technical assistance sessions will take place on January 25 from 5:30-7:00 PM and February 2 from 9:00-11:00 AM in the City Council Chambers (281 Broadway, Revere). Support in both Spanish and Arabic will be available in-person at these seminars.
• Questions about the grant application should be directed to smallbusiness@revere.org.

  “After hearing from so many small businesses who are still hurting from the pandemic, I am so very happy that we are launching another small business grant that will provide financial support and stabilization for microenterprise businesses,” said John Festa, Business Liaison for the City of Revere DPCD. “By hosting an information webinar and conducting technical assistance sessions, we hope to create a more accessible application process for Revere small-business owners and entrepreneurs.”

  This work coupled with the city’s overall master plan, Next Stop Revere, will create the tools and policies necessary for the next generation of success in Revere. Visit the Department of Planning and Community Development’s webpage on revere.org for more information.