The first round of the Illinois Business Interruption Grant (BIG) program awards have been announced, and the list is available to the public, here.
(Note: I noticed when reviewing the list that in the Chicago section, it runs alphabetically, but then re-starts with another round of A-Z. Therefore one needs to look in both sections to see all the Chicago recipients.)
BIG is a program through which Illinois awards grants to a diverse group of small businesses, as well as business communities hit hardest by COVID-19 related closures. The grants are for either $10,000 or $20,000 and a total of $46 million have been awarded so far. They are intended to be used to help businesses with working capital expenses (including payroll, rent, utilities, and equipment, as well as other unexpected costs to mitigate the impact of the pandemic, such as PPE, training, and new technology).
“Business categories identified in the first round include small businesses in industries that continue to experience economic hardship due to public concerns for health and safety and in areas that sustained setbacks due to property damage and closures as a result of recent civil unrest.”
“BIG round 1 grants span a diverse geography, as well as business type – with more than 50 percent of grant recipients reporting they are minority-owned. This breakdown includes 14 percent Black business owners, 25 percent Asian-owned, and 11 percent Latinx-owned. Additionally, more than 600 grants totaling $10 million for downstate businesses. To ensure small businesses were given a priority, grantees were required to prove annual revenues of $3 million or lower.”
“More than 5,000 businesses applied for funding, with grantees selected via random lottery. To ensure reviews were conducted with an objective, equitable lens and to maximize the turnaround time on application reviews, DCEO partnered with several community-based grant administration partners, including Accion, Chicago Urban League, Women’s Business Development Center, The Chicago Community Loan Fund, Somercor and Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives.”
More information on the program and the first round of awards can be found here, and again, the list of recipients is here.
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