02 Nov NEW FUNDING AVAILABLE FOR LOCAL BUSINESSES
The first of these are the Covid-19 Recovery Grants for local businesses, community groups and voluntary organisations, a link to the press release issued this week can be found here. Mid Sussex District Council grants of £1,000 to £5,000 will be available to help local businesses and organisations through the Covid-19 crisis.
Applications will be considered for costs and/or projects which relate to:
- Emergency Response – Additional costs, above and beyond normal running costs, whilst operating under legal restrictions because of Covid-19 which prevents normal service delivery; or example maintaining contact with clients and customers and delivering Covid-19 support e.g. to vulnerable and shielded groups.
- Return to Pre-Covid Provision – Additional costs associated with reopening and return to Business as Usual in a Covid-19 safe way; for example new equipment, staff training, physical works to create a Covid-19 secure working environment.
- New Service or Business Innovation – Adapting the business or organisation to new delivery or service provision; for example a shift to new digital provision or other innovative ways of working.
Key dates:
- Applications Open – 30th October 2020
- Applications Close – 30th November 2020
- Confirmation of successful applications will be made after 14th December 2020.
In addition, MSDC will soon be opening applications for their Micro Business Grants, criteria remain similar to last year with a slight change giving priority to new applicants in the first instance. The scheme supports growth of micro businesses across the District by offering two types of grant to businesses.
- ‘Project Grant’ which offers a maximum of £2,000 which can be used to support a new project or initiative which will result in business growth
- ‘Apprenticeship Grant’ £1,500 to support the recruitment of an apprentice.
The total grant fund available this year for the scheme is £71,000. To be eligible businesses must be based in Mid Sussex and have fewer than 10 employees (this includes both part-time and full-time staff). For the Project Grants, the business must also be able to commit a minimum contribution of 50% towards the cost of the project (this is not required for the Apprenticeship Grants). We will advise confirmation of the launch date shortly.
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