Windham Region Chamber of Commerce

Grants & Funding

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GRANT FOR MUSEUMS, HISTORIC SITES/HOUSES/SOCIETIES

The Governor has created a new opportunity for museums and historic houses, sites and societies to receive funding to cover your costs this summer by allowing children in Connecticut to visit museums throughout the state free of charge.

The initiative was included as part of the proposal he presented earlier this week to the Connecticut General Assembly to allocate federal COVID-19 recovery funding that Connecticut is receiving from the American Rescue Plan Act. This summer museum portion of the proposal is part of Governor Lamont’s larger plan to provide students and families with engaging summer enrichment and learning experiences in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Under the initiative, all Connecticut children aged 18 and under plus one accompanying adult can visit any of the state’s participating museums free of charge from July 1 to Sept. 6, 2021. It will be supported by a $15 million investment from the state’s federal recovery funds to the participating museums.

So far, Mystic Aquarium, Mystic Seaport Museum, Beardsley Zoo, Connecticut Science Center and the Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk have all expressed interest. However, in the coming weeks, all museums in the state will be invited to participate, pending the necessary authorization from the state Legislature.

Grants will be administered by the DECD’s Connecticut Office of the Arts in partnership with Connecticut Humanities.  Applications and funding guidelines will be available by May 15, 2021, on both the Office of the Arts’ and Connecticut Humanities’ websites.  The final distribution of awards will be contingent pending the necessary authorization from the state Legislature.

The program application is under development and is scheduled to open by May 15, 2021. Any museum in CT may participate in the initiative regardless of whether they apply for or are eligible for funding. Grants to museums that provide free admission for CT children and one accompanying adult will help mitigate significant loss in visitor revenue due to participation in the initiative.

If your organization chooses not to apply for funding, there will be instructions on how to register as a non-funded participant.

To prepare for the application, you are encouraged to start compiling the following information now:

  • 2019 budget that includes operating income and expenses (If you were not open in 2019, you will be asked to use 2018 figures to support your application)
  • 2019 visitation numbers, total revenue from annual visitation, and percent of your operating revenue derived from visitor admission fees
  • Information specific to visitation between July 1, 2019 and Sept. 2, 2019, including the total number of visitors broken into the categories of adult and child, and further broken down to reflect visitors from CT vs visitors from out-of-state; total admission revenue generated during this period, and amount of revenue generated by visitor category noted above. **Note if this information is unavailable, estimated data may be acceptable.
  • 2019 admission fees and categories
  • Plans for reopening in 2021 between July 1 and Sept. 6, 2021 (Labor Day)
  • Plans for marketing your museum this summer

For the purposes of this funding, “museums” refers broadly to historic house museums, historic sites and historical societies, as well as children’s museums, science centers and special-interest museums. Qualified applicants must have a nonprofit 501c3 tax designation.

 

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FREE INTERNET/COMPUTER FOR VETERANS

Active duty members, veterans and survivors may be eligible for free or discounted internet, and up to a $100 discount on a computer, thanks to a new program from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

The Emergency Broadband Benefit Program is a $3.2 billion federal initiative created by Congress to help lower the cost of high-speed internet for low-income Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic.

To be eligible for the program, a household or household member must:

  • Have an income that is at or below 135% of the federal poverty guidelines or participate in SNAP, Medicaid or Lifeline;
  • Participate in the free and reduced-price school lunch or breakfast program;
  • Have received a federal Pell Grant during the current year;
  • Have experienced a substantial loss of income due to job loss or furlough since Feb. 29, 2020, with a total 2020 income at or below $99,000 for single filers or $198,000 for joint filers; or
  • Meet the eligibility criteria for a participating provider’s existing low-income or COVID-19 program.

For a family of four in most of the country, an income equal to 135% of the poverty level is $35,775; for a family of two, that amount is $23,517. Income limits are higher for Alaska and Hawaii. See the Department of Health and Human Services website to calculate other levels.

For the purposes of this program, income includes:

  • Salary or earnings
  • Unemployment compensation
  • Social Security
  • Veterans’ benefits
  • Survivor benefits
  • Pension or retirement income

However, families who exceed the federal poverty level still may be eligible for the program if at least one member of the family meets another criteria, such as receiving a Pell Grant, receiving SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — commonly referred to as food stamps) or is attending a school where every student receives free or reduced-price lunches.

Families who suffered a substantial loss of income in the past 12 months are also eligible, even if they make more than the poverty level.

Participants approved for the program will receive up to a $50 monthly discount on qualifying high-speed internet from their provider, they may also receive up to a $100 discount for a laptop, desktop or tablet computer purchased from their internet service provider. Those who seek to receive the discount on a computer must pay at least $10 but less than $50 after the discount is applied. Each participating household is limited to only one internet and one computer discount in all situations.

A list of participating internet service providers can be found on the FCC website.

The temporary program is scheduled to end either when the money runs out or six months after the COVID-19 emergency is declared officially over, whichever is sooner.

The program will begin on May 12, 2021. Visit the official program website for more information.

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GRANT FOR FOOD SERVICE PROVIDERS-RESTAURANT REVITALIZATION GRANT

The Restaurant Revitalization Fund Grant is now open! If you are in food service you should apply for this funding. It is a GRANT not a loan.
The American Rescue Plan Act established the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) to provide funding to help restaurants and other eligible businesses keep their doors open. This program will provide restaurants with funding equal to their pandemic-related revenue loss up to $10 million per business and no more than $5 million per physical location. Recipients are not required to repay the funding as long as funds are used for eligible uses no later than March 11, 2023.
The RRF is to help restaurants and other foodservice businesses, including food stands, food trucks, caterers, bars, lounges and snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars, as well as bakeries, brewpubs, tasting rooms, taprooms, breweries, microbreweries, wineries and distilleries with on-site sales to the public of at least 33% of gross receipts.
CTSBDC is offering the following webinars in English and in Spanish:
Registration Links:
HERE IS A WEBINAR recording of info for applying for the grant.
Info to be Covered:
  • Eligibility details including which entities qualify and what is required;
  • Determining the amount you would qualify for depending on how long you’ve been in business;
  • The covered period, or the time period in which you need to use the funds;
  • How you can use the funds once you receive them;
  • Required documentation to help you get ready.

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SUMMER ENRICHMENT GRANTS

The State is providing up to $11 million in federal funding received for COVID-19 recovery efforts toward the expansion of programs that connect students to high-quality summer enrichment and recreational opportunities, with an emphasis on communities and children who were most impacted by the pandemic. Applications are due May 10, 2021.

There are 2 grant programs being offered:

  • Expansion grants (up to $25,000 per program site), which aim “to increase the number of Connecticut children who are able to participate in an enrichment program during the summer of 2021, with an emphasis on children who were most impacted by the pandemic. The funding can be used for expanding local existing programs, offering subsidies to offset enrollment costs, or creating a new program to serve students who might otherwise not have access to summer camp/programs.”
  • Innovation grants ($50,000-$200,000), intended “to provide students, especially those from traditionally underserved communities, with access to bold, highest-quality, and innovative summer programming. The funding can be used for expanding existing programs or creating a new program to serve students who might otherwise not have access to summer camp/programs, with an emphasis on programs that can serve students regionally or statewide. Programs must be evidence-based and demonstrate, either through available research, prior program data, or by other means, a superior record of improving student outcomes.”

This competitive grant application will award Expansion Grants and Innovation Grants to eligible organizations to provide students and families with engaging summer enrichment and learning experiences. Grant application materials were created in collaboration with dozens of key stakeholders across the state – including leaders of summer programs – and will enable the state to identify and support high-quality programs that are able to expand capacity for summer 2021.

Providers are encouraged to collaborate with local school districts and municipalities in order to maximize funding and school districts and municipalities are encouraged to leverage the state’s investment as appropriate, to serve even more students.

HERE IS MORE INFORMATION

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CHAMBER PART OF COALITION ASKING CONGRESS TO PROVIDE UNRESTRICTED GRANTS TO BUSINESSES

The Chamber has been a member of the Save Small Business Coalition and has been actively advocating for COVID relief for all of you for over a year.  Our coalition has now joined forces with the Main St Alliance and with the Small Business Majority, both organizations with a mission to support and advocate for small businesses.

We are asking Congress for financial assistance for small businesses without any conditions so that you can use the money the best way you know how to help your own company.  Below is our Action Letter.  If you, as an individual business owner, would like to also send a letter to your legislators asking them for this, we have attached a link that you can click on which will take you to the coalition’s page.  Here you can add your name and you can send letters to our delegation with a simple click.  Please take a minute to do this.  YOUR voice can be heard.  YOUR voice should be heard.

The Critical Need for Unrestricted Grants for America’s Small Businesses

Dear Majority Leader Schumer, Minority Leader McConnell, Speaker Pelosi, and Minority Leader McCarthy:

As representatives of America’s 30 million small businesses, Small Business Majority, Main Street Alliance, and the undersigned organizations, we write today to urge Congress to immediately appropriate funding for flexible, unrestricted grants targeted to the smallest and hardest hit businesses.

Having reached the grim one-year anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic shutting down the U.S., small businesses continue to struggle to keep their doors open, particularly women- and minority-owned businesses. While the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) provided a crucial lifeline for many businesses, the programs’ rollout, technical errors, and restrictive loan parameters caused many small businesses—especially newer businesses and under-resourced communities—to fall through the cracks.

Small Business Majority’s recent survey found that of the businesses that applied for PPP, 36% did not receive the full loan amount they requested, including nearly all of the Black self-employed entrepreneurs surveyed. And for those small business owners who did not apply for PPP, more than half (55%) say they did not do so because they were ineligible, or they were told they were ineligible for the program. Small businesses still need assistance. In fact, 40% of small business owners report they will need no-cost grants or zero interest loans this year to keep their business open.

Additionally, a nationwide poll of small business owners from last fall found that 68% of owners agreed that the loans available to small businesses through PPP have been of limited help to many small businesses because the guidelines on how to use them and the time frame for use have been unclear. Moreover, 62% say that the loans available to small businesses to survive during the pandemic are not equally distributed, and it is more difficult for small businesses owned by people of color and women to receive economic assistance.

While many small businesses have applied for the EIDL program and some have received the advance grant, these funds likely did not scratch the surface of what small businesses need to survive the crisis. Only 34% received the full $10,000 available and nearly 1 in 4 received just $1,000, according to a recent survey. For those businesses that received funding, the money most certainly has dried out, and for the businesses that did not receive anything, they are hanging on by a thread.

While recent changes to PPP have expanded access for certain small business borrowers, and grant programs for specific industries such as shuttered venues and restaurants are coming to fruition, many small businesses will still fall through the cracks. With each day that passes, a new batch of small businesses are pushed off a cliff because their year-long cries for grant assistance have been ignored.

That is why we are calling on Congress to provide them with unrestricted funding—because only they can determine how best to utilize the funding to keep their businesses open. This has strong support, with 91% of small businesses saying they want Congress to pass legislation authorizing direct grants. It is critical that you pass a substantive, unrestricted grant program immediately to support small businesses.

Here is the link for you to write to your senators and congressmen.  CLICK HERE

 

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COBRA PREMIUMS ARE NOW SUBSIDIZED UNDER THE ARPA

On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed into law the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (“ARPA”), a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 economic stimulus bill which provides eligible qualified beneficiaries with up to six months of free COBRA continuation coverage during a temporary COBRA premium subsidy period beginning April 1, 2021 and ending September 30, 2021.

The full COBRA premium subsidy is available to any qualified beneficiaries (that is, current or former employees and their spouses and dependent children) who have lost or who will lose employer-sponsored group health plan coverage due to the employee’s involuntary termination of employment or reduction of hours and whose 18-month COBRA continuation coverage period includes any portion of the six-month COBRA premium subsidy period (April 1, 2021 to September 30, 2021). For example, a former employee who lost group health plan coverage and whose 18-month COBRA continuation coverage period began on November 1, 2019 would be eligible for the premium subsidy for April 2021, the final month of his COBRA period.

Qualified beneficiaries who are eligible for the COBRA premium subsidy fall within the following three groups:

Group 1: Those who first become eligible for COBRA continuation coverage during the six-month subsidy period (April 1, 2021 to September 30, 2021) and who elect COBRA coverage;

Group 2: Those who, on April 1, 2021, had already elected and are enrolled in COBRA continuation coverage; and

Group 3: Those who, on April 1, 2021, could have been enrolled in COBRA continuation coverage but were not, either because they did not elect COBRA continuation coverage or did elect it but discontinued it before April 1, 2021 (for example, because they stopped paying the required premiums).

The COBRA premium subsidy applies to all COBRA-subject employer-sponsored group health plans (such as medical, dental and vision plans), except for health flexible spending arrangements (health FSAs) offered under Internal Revenue Code Section 125 cafeteria plans.

Employers, working with their COBRA administrators, must act promptly to comply with the new COBRA premium subsidy rules, including significant new notice requirements, as follows:

  1. Identify Qualified Beneficiaries Who Are Eligible for the Premium Subsidy. Employers and COBRA administrators will need to work together to promptly identify all subsidy-eligible qualified beneficiaries who fall into Group 1, Group 2 or Group 3 above, that is, all current and former employees (and their spouses and dependent children) who have lost or who will lose employer-sponsored group health plan coverage (over than health FSA coverage) due to the employee’s involuntary termination of employment or reduction of hours and whose 18-month COBRA continuation coverage period includes any portion of the six-month COBRA premium subsidy period.
  2. Timely Provide All Required COBRA Notices. Employers and COBRA administrators will also need to work together to timely provide the following new COBRA notices:
  • COBRA Election Notice (With Required Additional Subsidy Information) for Qualified Beneficiaries in Group 1. Subsidy-eligible qualified beneficiaries who fall into Group 1 above must be timely provided with a COBRA election notice that includes certain required additional information about the COBRA premium subsidy. ARPA requires the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a model COBRA election notice, including the required additional COBRA premium subsidy information, no later than April 10, 2021 (that is, within 30 days after ARPA’s March 11, 2021 enactment date).
  • Subsidy Notice for Qualified Beneficiaries in Group 2: Subsidy-eligible qualified beneficiaries who fall into Group 2 must be provided, no later than May 31, 2021 (that is, within 60 days after April 1, 2021), with a subsidy notice (supplementing the COBRA election notice they previously received) that includes the required additional information about the COBRA premium subsidy. The DOL must issue a model subsidy notice no later than April 10, 2021.
  • “Second-Chance” Election Notice for Qualified Beneficiaries in Group 3. Subsidy-eligible qualified beneficiaries who fall into Group 3 must be given a second chance to elect COBRA continuation coverage and must be provided, no later than May 31, 2021, with a “second-chance” COBRA election notice that includes the required additional information about the COBRA premium subsidy. The DOL must issue a model “second-chance” COBRA election notice, including the required additional COBRA premium subsidy information, no later than April 10, 2021.
  • Notice of Expiration of COBRA Premium Subsidy Period. Any subsidy-eligible qualified beneficiary in Group 1, Group 2 or Group 3 who has elected COBRA continuation coverage that is subsidized for all or any portion of the six-month subsidy period (April 1, 2021 to September 30, 2021) must receive, between 45 and 15 days before the date that his or her premium subsidy period will expire, a notice that informs him or her of the imminent expiration of the subsidized coverage and prominently identifies the exact expiration date. The DOL must issue a model expiration notice no later than April 25, 2021 (that is, within 45 days after ARPA’s March 11, 2021 enactment date).

Employers and their COBRA administrators must act quickly to comply with these new rules. We recommend that employers and their COBRA administrators should immediately start identifying all qualified beneficiaries who are eligible for the new COBRA premium subsidy. We also recommend that employers and their COBRA administrators wait for the DOL to issue the required model notices and to use those model notices to meet the new COBRA notice requirements. We hope and expect that the DOL will issue the model notices in the very near future. We also hope and expect that the DOL will issue additional guidance clarifying whether the deadlines for providing any of the new COBRA notices would be extended, due to the COVID-19 outbreak period, under guidance (Disaster Relief Notice 2021-01) which the DOL issued on February 26, 2021. For more detailed information about the new COBRA premium subsidy and other employee benefits and executive compensation-related provisions of ARPA, please read our March 18, 2021 Alert, Employee Benefits Group News: A Summary of Key Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation Provisions in the American Rescue Plan Act.