Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Businesses in Gogebic and Ontonagon counties have received more than $175,000 in grant money through the Michigan Small Business Survival Grant Program, the state recently announced.
Twenty-five businesses in Gogebic County received a total of $125,876 in grant funding, according to information from InvestUP, and eight Ontonagon County businesses received a total of $52,250. InvestUP was the economic development organization responsible for administering the grants in the Upper Peninsula.
“The Michigan Small Businesses Survival Grant Program provides crucial support to Michigan’s small businesses hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic,” Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said in the funding announcement. “These grants, combined with additional business relief efforts offered by the (Michigan Economic Development Corporation), will create a strong foundation for Michigan’s long-term economic recovery.”
Qualifying businesses and non-profits could receive up to $20,000 if they’ve been fully closed, according to information from the state, or grants of up to $15,000 if they’ve been partially closed or open but able to demonstrate a negative impact due the pandemic.
Upper Peninsula businesses received an average of $5,700, according to InvestUP CEO Marty Fittante.
“It doesn’t sound like a lot, but boy it’s a difference maker when you hear from these businesses what that means to them,” Fittante said, acknowledging the amount is often less than the losses that have been sustained.
The exact grant amounts were decided using a range of criteria, according to Fittante.
“Some of the things … we tried to be mindful of were: what was the loss of revenue, how acute might the need have been, have you received any other assistance,” he said. “We did try to push awards towards those that had not received any state-based assistance before.”
Other requirements included showing that the business or organization was party of an industry that has been impacted by the COVID-19 emergency, that they needed working capital to support payroll and other expenses, and could demonstrate an income loss as a result of the COVID-19 emergency.
This is the third round of grants in the state, Fittante said, with relief and restart grants having been administered prior to the survival grants. InvestUP has pushed grants to over 1,000 unique recipients between the various rounds of funding, according to Fittante.
The survival grants also tried to target industries that have been most impacted by the state’s recent orders designed to combat the pandemic.
“Restaurants and bars were of particular emphasis for us,” Fittante said.
He made clear that not receiving a grant shouldn’t be interpreted as a slight against any business.
“The reality is almost every business that applied had a need and was deserving, (not receiving an award) is really only a function of a finite amount of money,” Fittante said. “That’s hard for businesses that didn’t receive (funding) to necessarily understand, and I completely empathize with why that is for them.”
A total of approximately $52.5 million in survival grants were distributed to nearly 6,000 businesses around the state, according to the state’s announcement, with InvestUP saying 415 U.P. businesses received nearly $2.5 million in assistance.
“Once again, we are grateful for Senators Ed McBroom and Wayne Schmidt, Representatives LaFave, Cambensy and Markkanen, the governor and our partners at the Michigan Strategic Fund and the MEDC for making this funding available to Upper Peninsula small businesses,” Fittante said in the InvestUP announcement of the funding.
He also said additional funding is likely coming in the near future.
“I’m quite confident additional relief is coming, and coming in the … more immediate weeks ahead,” Fittante told the Daily Globe. “I don’t think it’s a long wait at this point.”
