COLONIE — The town Local Development Corporation is looking to give $100,000 worth of grants to small businesses financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The program is possible due to the work of our LDC Board Members who see firsthand the struggles that our smallest businesses have been facing,” said Sean Maguire, executive director of the Colonie LDC. “They see and hear about these challenges not only as Board Members but as colleagues, customers, and neighbors — and naturally they want to play an active role in extending a hand.”
The LDC allocated $100,000 to the program to benefit businesses located within town that have no more than 10 employees and no more than two locations. The grants are up to $5,000 to help offset additional expenses and unexpected losses incurred since the start of the pandemic in March, 2020.
This is the third grant program that has been made available to Colonie businesses as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, the Colonie Industrial Development Agency committed $100,000 and awarded more than $70,000 in grants to support the additional cost of personal protective equipment. The town Community Development Department also provided $189,500 to assist small businesses through the Community Loan Fund.
Funding for this program comes from project fees that the Colonie LDC receives when assisting not-for-profit entities with issuing bonds to reduce the cost of a project. Some project examples include the issuance of bonds to finance the construction of senior housing the King Thiel Senior Community and Shaker Pointe at Carondelet.
Eligible businesses may complete an initial application available on the Town of Colonie website at www.colonie.org or emailed upon request by calling (518) 783-2741 and providing a valid email address.
