Deadline to apply is noon on Friday, December 18
The Small Business CARES Relief Grant Program was created by the New Mexico State Legislature in the November 2020 Special Session to provide $100 million in grant funding to New Mexico small businesses that are experiencing financial hardship due to the pandemic. This grant does not need to be paid back.
The New Mexico Finance Authority will begin accepting applications for the Small Business CARES Relief Grants at Noon on Monday, December 7 through Noon on Friday, December 18.
To review the eligibility requirements, application details, and program overview, please click here or see the information below:
Eligibility:
Small Business CARES Relief Grants are available to New Mexico for-profit businesses and nonprofit organizations with 100 or fewer employees that meet one of the following requirements:
- Sole proprietorship owned by a New Mexico resident, or
- Corporations, partnerships, joint ventures, limited liability companies or limited partnerships that are at least 51% owned by one or more New Mexico residents, or
- Nonprofit corporation designated as a 501(c)(3), 501(C)(6) or 501(c)(8) entity, or a 501(c) organization that serves past or present members of the Armed Forces of the United States.
Process for funding applications
The applications will be funded in three rounds so that businesses that apply later in the application period still have a chance to obtain funding. The funding rounds and amounts set aside for funding are as follows:
- Round 1: Applications submitted by noon on December 10: $40,000,000
- Round 2: All applications submitted by noon on December 15 and those unawarded applications from Round 1: $35,000,000
- Round 3: All applications submitted by noon on December 18 and those unawarded applications from Rounds 1 and 2: $25,000,000 plus any allocated funds that were not used in earlier rounds.
Applicants should apply only once. If an application is not funded in the round in which it was submitted, the application will roll into the next round and will be considered again.
Grant Amounts
Businesses will be awarded grant amounts based upon the number of individuals they employ. The grant amounts are fixed amounts that are based on quarterly wage reports submitted to the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions. Businesses that do not pay unemployment taxes (non-employer businesses) and those that do not submit a copy of the quarterly wage report will be eligible for a grant of $2,000.
Number of employees grant amount
- 0 $2,000
- 1-5 $10,000
- 6-15 $15,000
- 16-25 $25,000
- 26-40 $30,000
- 41-60 $40,000
- 61-75 $45,000
- 76-100 $50,000
Business owners do not qualify as employees. Employees to be included are full-time and part-time employees, not including contract employees.
Applicants are able to use pre-COVID employment levels for purposes of determining the grant amount. Applicants are able to submit any quarterly wage report from March 31, 2019 to date.
Click the graphic below to learn more.
