BUFFALO, N.Y. – Mayor Byron W. Brown and the Mayor’s Office of Strategic Planning (OSP) announce the first group of small businesses are being informed about grant awards for the Grow America Small Business Assistance Grant program. Local small businesses will receive grant funding in the coming weeks.

“Making sure local small businesses get the help they need is critical,” said Mayor Brown. “Through this Small Business Grant Program, that my Administration initiated last year, it is my goal to give small businesses the resources they need to succeed and to continue their recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Last summer, Mayor Brown worked with the Common Council to dedicate a portion of city’s American Rescue Plan (ARP) funding for the Buffalo Small Business Assistance Grant program to help small business owners who were impacted by the pandemic. The city committed $4.3 million in ARP funding; $3.5 million will go directly to grant assistance and will be divided among the nine council districts; $800 thousand will go towards technical assistance and administration costs. In the coming week, the city will award a total of $1,762,500 to over 130 small businesses. Applications are still being accepted for every Common Council district except Fillmore and Niagara, where the funding allotment has been fully awarded.

Grow America, formerly the National Development Council or NDC, is administering the program in partnership with the Buffalo Urban League and The Exchange at Beverly Gray. Both the Urban League and The Exchange are providing technical assistance to help business owners complete the applications. They are also providing additional business development technical assistance.

Applications are still being accepted.

To apply visit https://ndc.smapply.io/prog/buffalo_small_business_assistance_program_/