I Am JXN Micro Enterprise Grant

The grant application OPENS November 20, 2023. 

***GRANTS ARE A FIRST-COME, FIRST-SERVE PROCESS. COMPLETE APPLICATIONS WILL BE EVALUATED FOR ELIGIBILITY***

The grant awards up to $20,000 in funding.

APPLICATION REVIEW PERIOD IS 90 DAYS

• APPLICATIONS ARE FINAL UPON SUBMISSION
• REVIEW THE APPLICATION CHECKLIST & FAQs BEFORE BEGINNING THE APPLICATION
• DOWNLOAD ALL FORMS LISTED ON THE LEFT OF THIS PAGE
• NOTARIZE THE FORMS AND UPLOAD THEM INTO THE GRANT APPLICATION
• SUBMIT ALL DOCUMENTS AS REQUIRED WITHIN THE APPLICATION 
• ONLY COMPLETE APPLICATIONS WILL BE REVIEWED

Purpose:

To assist small businesses located within the City of Jackson, Mississippi, in preventing, preparing for, and responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. The City of Jackson's I AM JXN Micro Enterprise Grant will provide direct payments to businesses with necessary expenditures to responsibly and safely operate during a public health emergency with respect to the COVID-19 pandemic. Necessary expenditures could include the safe operation of small businesses resulting from mandates, closings, and occupancy limitations imposed by various local, state, and federal governments, during the period that begins on March 1, 2020, and ends on December 30, 2020. The maximum grant amount is $20,000.

GRANTS ARE A FIRST-COME, FIRST-SERVE PROCESS. COMPLETE APPLICATIONS WILL BE EVALUATED FOR ELIGIBILITY

Who can apply?  

This grant is available to qualifying for-profit businesses with 5 or fewer full-time equivalent employees including the owners in Jackson, Mississippi, as long as funding remains for the program. The grant proceeds must be spent on eligible expenses necessary to remain open and sustainable during an endemic, with respect to the Coronavirus (COVID-19), as outlined below.

To be eligible, your company must be headquartered in Jackson, Mississippi, and either has been forced to close or severely curtail business operations due to closure orders from the state or city and have annual revenue of $1 million or less prior to the impact of COVID-19.

To be eligible, a small business must meet ALL of the following criteria to qualify for grant award consideration:

• Operate their business within the Jackson city limits, and
• Employ residents of the United States, and
• Be in operation on or before March 2019, and
• Complete the grant Application submitting all required documents, and
• Must be a for-profit business.
• Must have 250,000 or less in annual gross revenue (for the calendar year 2019).
• Must have 5 or fewer employees (including the owner(s) of the business).
• Must not have any outstanding liens, violations, or debts owed to the City.
• Physically located within a commercially zoned location inside the Jackson city limits, and utilizing the City of Jackson Water System;

Who is not eligible to apply per HUD guidelines?  

• Non-profit organizations/businesses;
• Home-based businesses;
• Businesses that involve the sale of medical or recreational cannabis;
• Private club or business that limits membership for reasons other than capacity;
• Businesses engaged in the production or wholesale selling of tobacco products, vaping, liquor, or sexually explicit materials;
• Businesses engaged in the production or wholesale/retail selling of firearms;
• Pawnshop, liquor store, adult bookstore, non-therapeutic massage parlor, strip club, or nightclub;
• Storage facility, trailer-storage yard, or junkyard;
• A business in which a majority owner or member of the immediate family is an elected official or employee of the City of Jackson, Mississippi;
• An establishment similar to any enumerated above; or
• Businesses are deemed ineligible by the S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) or the City of Jackson.
• Multiple applications/applicants may not simultaneously compete for funding for the same property parcel or address.

Multiple applications/applicants may not simultaneously compete for funding for the same property parcel or address. 

Required documentation for grant execution:

• Completed application with all requested information
• Deed or Commercial Lease
• MS Secretary of State formation documents
• IRS Employee Identification Number
• Most recent Tax Returns (including Schedule C) (2019 & 2022)
• Payroll for December 2022
• Most recent payroll (at the time of application)
• Current Business License from the City of Jackson
• Proof of expenses (rent/mortgage, payroll, utilities, etc.)
• Reimbursement Request Form
• Invoice (requesting reimbursement)
• Duns Number
• Proof of Location in a Qualified Census Tract - https://www.Huduser.Gov/Portal/Sadda/Sadda_Qct.Html
• If located in a Flood Zone, proof of Insurance is required
• Color Photograph of the business location, including signage
• Conflict of Interest Certification Statement
• Certification of Non-Duplication of Benefits
• LMI clientele owners' income declaration
• Photo ID
• Department and acknowledgment statement
• CDBG Self-Certification Form
• Image release form
• 4506 form request for transaction & Taxation

If an application is incomplete, it will be deemed inactive, and processing will cease.

What expenses will be covered?

CDBG-CV funding is only available for eligible activities that address the prevention of, preparation for, or response to the Coronavirus. All documents, supporting documentation, and any additional information provided will be considered by the Review Committee. Direct assistance is to private for-profit entities for an activity determined to be appropriate to carry out an economic development project.

Eligible business expenses:

Businesses may receive reimbursement under this program for only the following documented business expenses incurred from March 2019 through March 2021:

• Rent / Mortgage Payments
• Payroll
• Utilities (Electric, Natural Gas and Water)
• Employee wages
• Real property taxes
• Structural insurance

Ineligible expenses specifically include but are not limited to the following expense categories:

• Accounts payable
• Inventory / Merchandise
• Renovations to, modifications of, or expansions of existing buildings
• Pay off non-business debt, such as personal credit cards, for purchases not associated with the
• Purchase personal expenses such as buying a new family car or repairing a participant's home.
• Direct financing for political activities or paying off taxes and
• Purchase of personal items
• Support of other businesses in which the borrower may have an

The CARES Act provides payments from the Fund that may only be used to cover costs that—  

• Are necessary expenditures incurred due to the public health emergency with respect to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID–19);
• Were not accounted for in the budget most recently approved as of March 27, 2020 (the date of enactment of the CARES Act) for the State or government; and
• Were incurred during the period that begins on March 1, 2020, and ends on December 30, 2020.

IMPORTANT NOTE: 

PLEASE ANSWER ALL QUESTIONS. 

FAILURE TO DO SO WILL RESULT IN YOUR APPLICATION BEING DENIED. 

APPLICATIONS ARE FINAL UPON SUBMISSION; THEREFORE, ADDITIONAL INFORMATION WILL NOT BE REQUESTED OR CONSIDERED.

*** IMPORTANT: PLEASE READ ALL OF THE CORONAVIRUS RELIEF FUND GUIDANCE FOR STATE, TERRITORIAL, LOCAL, AND TRIBAL GOVERNMENT INFORMATION ***

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