Southwest Initiative Foundation (SWIF) will administer the PROMISE Act Grant program for small businesses in southwest Minnesota located within its service area, which includes 18 counties and two Native nations. Funding and eligibility guidelines for this competitive grant program were established in law during the 2023 Minnesota legislative session.
Competitive grants range between $10,000 to $50,000 from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) to organizations that have been adversely affected by lack of access to capital, loss of population or an aging population, structural racial discrimination, civil unrest, and/or lack of regional economic diversification. The most competitive applicants have experienced economic hardship and did not receive significant COVID-19 relief funding of more than $10,000 from the State of Minnesota.
This program is not first-come, first-served; apply any time by the deadline. These grants will be competitive as grant funds are limited and not all businesses can expect to receive one.
ELIGIBILITY
- Business must have a primary business operating within the SWIF’s service area which includes the counties of Big Stone, Chippewa, Cottonwood, Jackson, Kandiyohi, Lac qui Parle, Lincoln, Lyon, McLeod, Meeker, Murray, Nobles, Pipestone, Redwood, Renville, Rock, Swift and Yellow Medicine; and Pezihutazizi Oyate (Upper Sioux Community) and Cansayapi Oyate (Lower Sioux Indian Community).
- Home based businesses are eligible to apply, so long as at least 50% of the employees are based in Minnesota.
- Sole proprietors are also eligible to apply but will be required to demonstrate business income sources separately from other sources of income.
- Businesses not operating within the SWIF region should review the DEED website to determine which organization to apply through, as this is a statewide program with different organizations administering in various regions.
- Business owner(s) and any directors or officers have not been convicted of a crime related to any state law.
- Business is in good standing with the Department of Revenue.
- Businesses with $750,000 or less in gross revenue (based on 2021 and 2022 taxes).
- Have a minimum of $10,000 in revenue in 2022.
- Businesses must be registered with the Minnesota Secretary of State, if required by Minnesota State Law. Sole proprietors operating their business under their own name do not need to be registered with the Minnesota Secretary of State.
- Nonprofits operating like a for-profit business, earning 30% or more of revenue on an ongoing basis through non-tax-deductible sales or dues in a fee-for-service model similar to for-profit businesses.
- Definition of “business-like” revenue that counts toward meeting the 30% threshold includes: program service revenue, membership dues, unrelated or other business income. Revenue that does not count towards meeting the 30% revenue includes: contributions, gifts or grants; fundraising events; asset sales; investment income.
- Business is operating as of the application date and can produce documents of ongoing operations. This can include recent invoices, payroll records, current lease or other business activity.
PRIORITY CRITERIA
- Business either did not receive pandemic relief grants from the State of Minnesota, or received$10,000 or less in the following pandemic relief grants from the State of Minnesota:
- Minnesota Small Business Loan Guarantee
- Minnesota Small Business Relief Grants
- Minnesota Main Street COVID-19 Relief Grants
- Minnesota Business Relief Payments
- AND/OR
- Experienced 10% or greater decrease in gross revenue, or any reduction in net income, in 2022 as compared to 2021. Tax documents for 2022 and 2021 will need to be uploaded to verify. If you were not in business in 2021 but were in 2022, you can still apply.
GRANT AMOUNTS
Grant award amounts are determined based on the business’ 2022 tax year gross revenue.
| 2022 Gross Revenue | Award Amount |
| $100,000 or below | $10,000 |
| $101,000 to $350,000 | $25,000 |
| $351,000 to $750,000 | $50,000 |
USE OF FUNDS
Funds can be used for working capital to support payroll expenses, rent or mortgage payments, utility bills, equipment and other similar expenses that occur in the regular course of business. Please note awardees may be required to provide documentation validating the use of grant funds at a later date.
APPLICATION AND TIMELINE
Applications are completed online and will be reviewed and prioritized as directed by the Department of Employment and Economic Development. This program is not first-come, first-served; apply any time by the deadline. These grants will be competitive as grant funds are limited and not all businesses can expect to receive one. If qualified applications exceed funds available, a randomized sample may be used to select grant recipients.
- Applications open on May 20, 2024 and close at 4 p.m. on June 24, 2024.
- Award notice is anticipated for August 2024 via email.
To prepare your application, follow these steps:
- Carefully review the program guidelines to ensure eligibility.
- Review the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s) listed on DEED’s website.
- Watch this video about the program and application.
- Preview the application questions in advance before applying online.
- Create digital files to upload in your application. PDF format is preferred.
- Primary Contact Identification in the form of an unexpired Driver’s License or ID card issued by a State, ID card issued by federal, state or local government agencies or entities
- Proof of Operating Business Address (ex. utility bill, recent invoices, payroll records)
- 2021 Business Tax Return (if applicable)
- 2022 Business Tax Return (required)
6. Apply online here. Using Google Chrome as your browser is strongly recommended to view and complete the application.
Applications not completed in their entirety will not be eligible. Ensure all fields are complete, upload the required documents and follow the steps to complete the electronic signature. You can begin the application and save your content and return if necessary. If you are unable to upload the required documents, please contact Briana at (320)583-5025 or [email protected].
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
Confidential and no-cost technical assistance is available for organizations that would like help with the application process through the Southwest Small Business Development Center (SBDC). Visit sbdcassistance.com and click on the tab ‘PROMISE Act Grant’. Complete the short questionnaire and a representative will reach out to you.
Please note application assistance is available only by phone, email or appointment by contacting Briana at (320)583-5025 or [email protected].
TRANSLATION SUPPORT
Waxaa kuu diyraar ah kaalmo farsamo oon khaarashkaaga bixin, goonina u ah hay’adaada kaana caawin dardar galinta qoraalka arji-codsi. La soo xidhiidh Mohamed Abdullahi ee hay’ada West Central Interpreting Services, talafoonka 320-979-8006 ama emailka [email protected].
တၢ်မၤစၢၤတဖၣ်အိၣ်ဝဲလၢတၢ်ကရၢကရိအဂီၢ်ပှဲၤဝဲဒီးတၢ်ဘံၣ်တၢ်ဘၢလၢအဂ့ၤဒီးတလၢၤကျိၣ်စ့တဖၣ်န့ၢ်လီၤ. ဆဲးကျိး စီၤထါထါ လၢ (320)552-0158 မ့တမ့ၢ် [email protected].
Yog xav tau kev pab apply los sis muaj lus noog dab tsi, hu rau Khou Lor (320) 583-6579 los sis email [email protected].
Asistencia técnica confidencial y sin costo está disponible para las organizaciones que deseen ayuda con el proceso de solicitud. Comuníquese con Ivan Parga (320) 552-0592 o [email protected].
Contact Information
Briana Mumme
Economic Development Manager
320-583-5025
[email protected]
