New State Grant Info & Calculator - Paper Trails

On Thursday, Governor Mills announced a $200 million grant program to support small businesses and non-profits in Maine who have been impacted by COVID-19. Small businesses and non-profits are encouraged to apply.

Funds for this grant are intended to support business operations, including payroll, rent, operating needs, purchasing PPE, etc.

Businesses who are eligible include: 

• Must be a Maine-based business or non-profit (there are multiple excluded business categories)
• Less than 50 employees
• Businesses must be in good standing with all state taxes
• Must demonstrate a need for the the grant (show that the business has lost revenue during COVID)

Final grant amounts will not be determined until all eligible applicants apply. The state will take the $200 million fund and divide it equally to all based on your eligible loss amount.

A full overview of the program can be downloaded from the state here. 

How to Apply

The application process is quite complex. You need to gather substantial documentation.

You may want to start by estimating what your grant award will be. Paper Trails has developed a spreadsheet to help you determine your estimated grant amount. Contact us for this spreadsheet.

You’ll need to gather quite a bit of documentation before applying, including:

• Your federal tax ID number (EIN)
• A DUNS number (you may or may not have one, but will need to apply for one in order to apply for this grant. The DUNS application process can take up to a week to finalize, so don’t wait.)
• 2017, 2018 and 2019 financials (P&L) from Quickbooks and completed tax returns for these years
• January to June 2020 financials (P&L) from Quickbooks
• A justification statement stating your loss percentage
• A W9 form
• All figures in our spreadsheet above

One you’re ready to apply, visit the Maine Economic Development website and complete the application. All applications must be received no later than September 9th at midnight. 

Grant award amounts will be announced to eligible businesses on September 30th and will be disbursed shortly thereafter.

Click here to go to the online application.

We are happy to help with whatever we can. Please let us know how we can support you through this process.

The Team at Paper Trails