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Ahead of next week’s National Small Business Week, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) highlighted its efforts to support small businesses April 28, especially during the throes of the pandemic, announcing it has issued $85 million in grants and loans to more than 2,300 small businesses since the launch of the Main Street Recovery Program in October 2021.
The NJEDA says the program, created under Gov. Phil Murphy’s Economic Recovery Act (ERA) of 2020, is budgeted to provide $150 million to support the growth and success of Garden State small businesses as they emerge from the pandemic, with a suite of different products to help achieve that goal.
Highlights from numbers released Friday include:
- 330 small businesses being approved for the Small Business Lease Grant, which provides funding to help businesses who leased new space or expanded their commercial space
- 1,250 small businesses being approved for the Small Business Improvement Grant, which reimburses grantees for 50% of the cost of capital improvements, furniture, fixtures and equipment at their facilities.
- 735 micro businesses, which typically face hardships accessing financing, received a combined $35.4 million since the launch of the Main Street Micro Business Loan in June 2022.
The NJEDA also recently launched two additional initiatives under the program:
- The Small Business E-Commerce Support Program: Opened in March, this initiative helps restaurants, retailers and personal care businesses that rely on in-person transactions to implement the technological capabilities needed to accommodate pandemic-related health guidelines.
- Main Street Lenders Grant: In November, NJEDA announced awarding over $11 million to eight lenders and financial institutions to expand their capacity to support small businesses.
The governor’s proposed Fiscal Year 2024 budget calls for an additional $50 million for the Main Street Recovery Program.
“From Cape May to Sussex County, small businesses serve as the backbone of New Jersey’s economy, and especially during the COVID pandemic, supporting our main streets was an essential component of ensuring the sustained vibrancy of our communities and their economic resiliency,” said Murphy in a press release. “Under the Main Street Recovery Program, New Jersey continues to invest in our small businesses and their owners, ensuring that our state and local economies continue to thrive today, tomorrow, and for years to come.”
NJEDA Chief Executive Officer Tim Sullivan says that this administration is prioritizing small businesses by providing these products to ensure they have the tools to succeed.
“When the pandemic hit, the NJEDA, under the Economic Recovery Act, worked diligently to craft a suite of products that injected millions of dollars of capital into New Jersey main streets,” said Sullivan. “Today, the Main Street Recovery Program has supported and continues to assist thousands of small business owners expand thrive.”
At work
In the press release announcing these milestones, the NJEDA also offered some examples of businesses that have utilized aspects of the program successfully.
Morph Mentoring, a Neptune-based, organizational development corporation, received the Small Business Lease Grant, which helped it expand to a second location, as well as a Micro Business Loan that allowed it to increase marketing and improve its online presence.
“With this incredible funding, we have been able to sustain and expand our business significantly,” said Chelsea Brunson, owner and CEO of Morph Mentoring, who also noted that the company doubled its staff.
Marlton-based Zed’s Beer utilized the Micro Business Loan to help with supply chain issues; the Small Business Improvement Grant to offset the cost of creating an outdoor space during the pandemic; and was able to keep its staff on payroll and purchase PPE through NJEDA COVID-relief programs.
“Access to more working capital lets us make better deals than we would have been able to make with tighter cash flow, helping keep our prices down, and maintaining similar margins to what we had pre-COVID,” said Lori White, co-founder, Zed’s Beer. “We are grateful that, with the support from the NJEDA, we were able to keep our staff, grow our business, and keeping serving our loyal customers across South Jersey.”
Passaic-based Arepa Express used the Small Business Improvement Grant, the Micro Business Loan, and COVID-relief programs to grow its business, avoid layoffs, and continue paying its rent and utilities, while also being able to purchase new kitchen equipment and create an outdoor seating area.
Owner Jenny Zapata said that without this assistance, it would have been very difficult to continue running her business.
“With their [NJEDA] support, we were able to keep our doors open and continue serving our community,” she said.
To mark Small Business Week (April 30-May 6), the NJEDA also announced three webinars highlighting available resources to support small businesses: A Spanish-language webinar May 1, one for North Jersey small businesses May 2, and one for Central and South Jersey businesses May 4.
More details can be found here.
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