UTICA, N.Y. — Grant funding is available for qualifying woman- and minority-owned businesses with five or fewer employees that are located within the City of Utica.
A total of $165,000 has been set aside for this program from the City of Utica’s 2024-2025 allocation of federal Community Development Block Grant funds, the office of Utica Mayor Michael Galime said in the Jan. 8 announcement.
Applications for the grant are available on the Utica website (www.cityofutica.com) or by contacting Jack Spaeth, economic-development specialist, at jspaeth@cityofutica.com or (315) 792-0181.
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Assistance through the grant program ranges from a minimum of $5,000 to a maximum of $15,000. Recipients can use the money for the purchase of capital assets such as machinery, equipment inventory, or for working capital or soft costs.
Those awarded grant funding will be required to complete a training program, such as the one available through the Mohawk Valley Small Business Development Center (SBDC), Galime’s office said.
Federal regulations require that either the business owner qualify as low- to moderate-income at time of award — or at least one job be created that is available to persons of low- to moderate-income.
“Small businesses are the backbone of any thriving community, including Utica,” Galime said in the announcement. “Given the diversity of our city, I have long felt that it was important to offer financial assistance to emerging entrepreneurs and business start-ups.”