Braintree Awarded $320K Grant To Help Small Businesses

BRAINTREE, MA — Braintree was awarded a $320,000 grant to help small businesses struggling amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The Community Development Block Grant is a federal program and provides short-term capital to help businesses survive severe economic disruptions brought about by the pandemic.

Mayor Charles Kokoros has three decades of small business experience with Braintree Cleaners and said he understands the struggles many have been going through since March.

"Small businesses are always the first, and in many cases the only ones to donate to our local youth sports and many fundraisers in our community," Kokoros said. "They are always there for us and during this time of need we must be there for them."

Grant money, which was made available through the federal CARES Act of 2020, may be used for rent, mortgage payments, staffing, utilities, personal protective equipment and costs for adapting to operations during the pandemic. The maximum grant award to any small business is $10,000.

'The Braintree Chamber of Commerce would like to thank the Town of Braintree and Mayor’s office for making this grant possible,” said Kim Kroha, chair of the Braintree Chamber of Commerce. "Receiving up to $10,000 in forgivable funds will make a big difference for eligible Braintree small businesses that have been hit hard by operating restrictions, changed customer patterns and increased costs."

Small businesses in town must meet the following criteria to be eligible to apply for assistance through the grant:

• Business must be a microenterprise (a commercial enterprise that has 5 or fewer employees, 1 or more of whom owns the enterprise).
• Business owner(s) must qualify under the Low-Moderate Income (LMI) Limited Clientele national objective criteria. All owners of the business must earn an annual income equal to or less than 80% of their Area Median Income (AMI) based on family size (see appendix A).
• A small locally owned enterprise with a brick and mortar location in the Town of Braintree. If a franchise, the parent company must be based in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
• A small for-profit business (sole proprietorships, partnerships, corporation, or LLC)
• A small locally owned business that provides goods or services to multiple clients or customers.

• A small locally owned business must be currently in operation and have been established prior to October 1, 2019, though priority will be given to businesses established prior to January 1, 2019.

• A small locally owned business that can demonstrate at the time of application it is current on all state and local taxes.
• The business must be able to document a loss of income greater or equal to the amount requested due to COVID-19. Example documentation: Personal or business tax returns, business financial statements, sales, year/year quarter/quarter comparisons.

Not listed as one of the following excluded business types:

• real estate rentals/sales businesses;
• businesses owned by persons under age 18;
• businesses that are chains;
• liquor stores;
• weapons/firearms dealers;
• lobbyists; or
• cannabis-related businesses.

The grant application is available on the town website. The town will award and disburse grants based upon eligibility criteria on a first come, first served basis until available funds are exhausted.

If you meet the eligibility criteria, a representative from the town will contact you via e-mail to complete a full application and submit the necessary back up documentation. For more information, please call the Mayor’s office at 781-794-8100.