County Working On Small Business Grant Program

Milwaukee County Courthouse. Photo by Graham Kilmer.

County officials are trying to create a new grant program to help entrepreneurs open brick-and-mortar stores.

County officials are seeking funding through a Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) grant program that can be invested directly into local businesses in Milwaukee County.

The WEDC has set aside $2 million for the Small Business Development Grant Program, which will provide grants to local governments to directly support small businesses in their communities. The county’s Economic Development Division is seeking $250,000, with plans to provide 25 $10,000 grants to small businesses around the county.

The program is essentially a successor to the Main Street Bounceback Grant Program, which was created by Gov. Tony Evers‘ administration in spring 2021. It provided grants for small businesses across the state a year after the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the world economy.

The county is seeking funding under the new program to provide grants to local businesses to help them locate or invest in brick-and-mortar locations in key commercial spaces around the county, Celia Benton, director of economic development, explained earlier this month.

“It’s bridging this gap between vetted and prepared entrepreneurs that are looking for their brick and mortar spaces and municipalities that have spaces they’d like to see activated,” Benton said.

Every municipality in the county has commercial space they want activated, but few have the resources to do it, Benton said. The grants would be available to businesses to help them secure or maintain their brick-and-mortar leases.

Local chambers of commerce, community development financial institutions and economic development organizations often know entrepreneurs that are prepared to open a brick-and-mortar location, or expand an existing footprint, according to a report by the division. For this reason, the county plans to partner with a handful of organizations to spread the word about the grants, if the county manages to secure the money from the state.

The county’s grants will require an existing brick-and-mortar location or plans to open one county residence and plans to spend at least $50,000 on the business, Benton said. In addition, the business owner will need a letter of support from their local government and to participate in a technical assistance program through a local chamber of commerce, business improvement district, community development financial institution or another economic development organization.

The WEDC grant program is “highly competitive,” Benton said, and the county is likely to hear back some time in the first half of 2025.

The City of Milwaukee is also vying for a similar grant, but, with existing brick-and-mortar programs, is exploring using the funds to support “soft costs” of business development.