Takoma Park: Applications Now Being Accepted for Small Business Support Grants

Per the City of Takoma Park:

The City of Takoma Park is awarding grant funds to support local small businesses in the City. The Department of Housing & Community Development is releasing these funds as a grant to eligible small businesses. The full grant application can be found here:

• English Application
• Spanish Application

Application Period

The Takoma Park Small Business Support Grant will begin accepting applications on Monday, March 21, 2022. Funding is not first come, first served. All funding decisions will be made after the application period closes. The application period will close on Friday, April 15, 2022, at 11:59 pm. Any applications received after the deadline will not be considered for funding.

Who Is Eligible for the Grant?

The Takoma Park Small Business Support Grant is intended for any business that operates with a legal business structure in the State of Maryland and either produces goods or offers services within the City of Takoma Park. This includes home-based and co-working businesses within the City boundaries.

To be eligible for the grant, a business must meet all the following criteria:

1. Be located within the City of Takoma Park.
   • For the purposes of the grant, a business must either: 1) have a retail or office location within the City or 2) produce goods or offer services within the City.
   • Businesses with multiple locations may only submit grant applications for one location.
2. Be in Good Standing with the State of Maryland.
   • Sole proprietors and self-employed individuals are eligible to apply if they can submit alternate verification of payment of business income taxes.
   • Business owners without Social Security Numbers can apply as long as they meet the eligibility criteria and have an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN).
3. Submit a completed application by the application deadline.

In addition, the following types of uses would be considered ineligible for the Grant: pawn shops, gun shops, tanning salons, massage parlors, adult video/book shops, adult entertainment facilities, check cashing facilities, gambling facilities, religious uses, and non-profits that do not directly produce or offer goods for sale.

View Spanish and Amharic translations of the eligibility criteria. 

Quick Links

• Economic Development
• Takoma Park Small Business Support Grant

Eligible Uses of Grant Funds

Grant funds may be used to support the day-to-day operation of the business. Eligible expenses may include, but are not limited to:

• Rent or mortgage payments;
• Utility payments;
• Capital investments in business equipment;
• Payroll expenses;
• Operation or supplier costs.

Grant Awards

The City anticipates awarding maximum grant awards of $5,000 per business in order to provide as many grants as possible. The City reserves the right to revise the maximum award amount after determining the number of eligible applications received.

Priority of Funding

City of Takoma Park staff will make discretionary grant award decisions after the application deadline. Staff will prioritize funding based on:

• Business Revenue: the grant award cannot exceed 50% of the business’ annual revenue (for example, if a business demonstrates an annual revenue of $5,000, they will only be eligible for a maximum grant award of $2,500);
• Business Location: efforts will be made to ensure an equitable geographic distribution of grant awards;
• Prior COVID-19 Relief Awards: businesses that have not received funding from other government COVID-19 relief programs will be prioritized;
• Minority-Ownership: businesses with minority, woman, and/or local-ownership may be prioritized.

Contact

If you have any questions about the grant application or the eligibility criteria, please contact the City of Takoma Park at [email protected] or 301-891-7119.