Small Business Focus: GRANT 2.0 Explained

This column is sponsored by BizLaunch, a division of Arlington Economic Development.

In our last Small Business Focus, we announced Arlington’s Small Business GRANT 2.0 and focused on eligibility. Now with applications underway through Oct. 20, we thought we’d use this opportunity to explain how small businesses can leverage GRANT 2.0 funds.

Similarly, to GRANT 1.0 released in 2020, funds from GRANT 2.0 can be used for the following:

• Retaining and/or supporting employees
• Restoring financial resiliency
• Increasing technology capacity
• Creating new marketing strategies
• Revising business plans

Many businesses awarded a GRANT last summer used the funds to pay rent and payroll expenses. However, some used their grant to revise business plans or to better leverage technology.

With the Arlington Small Business GRANT, @Community_ETC will keep creating and collaborating! The Educational Theatre Company will use the GRANT to continue to employ local artists and focus on new, creative initiatives to safely reach their community. #BizStrongArlVA pic.twitter.com/kWIaTiJQYI

— Arlington Econ Dev (@AEDBizInvest) July 2, 2020

For example, Educational Theatre Company used their grant to purchase a third Zoom line to offer simultaneous summer camps online. Another example is Compass Coffee, which used its grant to cover marketing expenses to expand its online sales.

Compass Coffee also used a portion of its funding to revise its business plan. It  purchased a machine to produce K-Cups and Nespresso pods to add to their product mix for customers stuck at home with cravings for their favorite local cup of coffee.

GRANT recipient @CompassCoffeeDC is grateful to have been able to continue serving take-out & ensure their customers still start their days with a fresh cup of coffee. They are using the GRANT to build their delivery service and expand their online store! #BizStrongArlVA pic.twitter.com/dutQXq8RJL

— Arlington Econ Dev (@AEDBizInvest) July 14, 2020

Our goal with GRANT 2.0, as with all our programs, is to help small businesses continue to thrive. Therefore, even if your business isn’t selected for the GRANT 2.0 program, you’re still able to take advantage of our ReLaunch program.

Through ReLaunch, businesses can access up to eight hours of business consulting services, working with a professional small business consultant on financial management, marketing strategy, business plan review and more. Hear what Jennifer Jones, Creative Founder of Cosmopolitan Plated, is saying about ReLaunch.

Another aspect of ReLaunch is a resource to develop a website or e-commerce solution for your small business. Since we launched this program at the beginning of the year, we’ve had several companies take advantage of this resource. We recently helped a local beauty salon on Columbia Pike develop its first website.

A longtime staple of Columbia Pike, Beauty Fair Hair Stylists is best known for introducing threading to the Arlington community. Work kicked off the middle of the summer on their website, and in a month, Beauty Fair Hair Stylists now has a new safe, secure website. Check out their new website today.

With GRANT 2.0, ReLaunch, business intelligence, consultations and more, BizLaunch has the tools you need to help your small business start, grow and scale. Learn more about BizLaunch at www.bizlaunch.org.