For the City Times

WISCONSIN RAPIDS – In response to the economic hardship resulting from the COVID-19 virus, the city of Wisconsin Rapids has created a grant program to assist small businesses with rental lease or mortgage payments for commercial property.

On April 30, the Wisconsin Rapids Common Council authorized the amount of $100,000 from the city’s fund balance to businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Each grant recipient that qualifies will be offered up to $1,500 for eligible expenses.

Grant applicants must be a local, non-franchise business, or non-profit organization with up to 10 full-time equivalent employees as of March 17.

Business entities must be Wisconsin organizations, but sole proprietorships may qualify if they meet all other requirements.

The applicant’s business must have been operating and open to the general public as of March 17.

The applicant must be in good standing at the time of application with the State of Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions and the city of Wisconsin Rapids.

The applicant’s business must have a physical presence outside the home, within a bricks and mortar building and be located within the city limits.

At the time of application, the applicant must be in a state of total closure or be unable to operate one or more of the primary functions of its business during Safer at Home.

The maximum grant is $1,500, and all grant proceeds must be used for documented business expenses that became due on March 1or later, including monthly commercial building loan mortgage and monthly commercial building rent/lease payment.

Applications will be made available May 4, The deadline to submit applications, including required supporting documentation, is May 6 at 4:30 p.m. Applications are available at www.wisconsinrapidschamber.com/covid-19-emergency-grant.

The grant administrator, consisting of city and Heart of Wisconsin Chamber of Commerce staff, will review the application for completeness and compliance with the grant eligibility standards after the submission deadline in the order they were received.

For more information, contact [email protected] or 715-423-1830.