The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) will begin accepting online applications on June 15 for its We’re All In grant, which will provide $2,500 in relief to an estimated 30,000 small businesses throughout the state.
Funded by the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, the grant aims to help small businesses with the costs of business interruption or health and safety improvements, wages and salaries, rent, mortgages, and inventory.
Eligibility
To be eligible for the grant, businesses must:
- be a Wisconsin-based, for-profit business;
- employ 20 or fewer full-time equivalent employees (including the owner);
- have more than $0 but less than $1 million in annual revenues; and
- have been in business in February 2020.
Application Period
The grant application will be accessible online for one week beginning 8 a.m. Monday, June 15, through 11:59 p.m. Sunday, June 21. A link to the application will be posted on the WEDC’s website on its We’re All In Small Business Grant page.
Preparing Application Materials
To prepare for the online application process, businesses need to gather the following documents:
- Either a 2018 or 2019 federal tax return (businesses that were started after Jan. 1, 2020 are not eligible for this grant). Applicable tax returns include:
- IRS form 1065 Partnership Return (no K-1s are required)
- IRS form 1120 Corporation Return (no schedules are required)
- IRS form 1120S S Corporation Return (no K-1s are required)
- IRS form 1040 (sole proprietors) and the following:
- Schedule C, Profit and Loss from Business
- A signed W-9 form, available here
- The three-digit North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code that best matches the business. This code may be found on the tax return, or looked up here
- An e-mail or letter of acknowledgement from a community organization attesting to the business being in operation in February 2020. According to the WEDC, this e-mail or letter can be from any of the following sources:
- Chamber of Commerce
- Main Street or Connect Communities organization
- Local business improvement district
- Neighborhood economic development association
- Local economic development organization
- County economic development organization
- Municipality, including tribal government
- County
- Local bank, credit union, or community development financial institution
- Regional UW Small Business Development Center
- S. Export Assistance Center – Wisconsin
- Regional economic development organization
- Regional Planning Commission
- Trade association
Businesses part of a national chain are ineligible unless they are third-party franchises. Agriculture industries and landlords covered by other CARES Act-funded programs are not eligible.
