HartBeat of Main Street Grant Program in United States

Deadline: 29-Oct-20

The National Main Street Center in partnership with The Hartford, has created a grant program to support brick-and-mortar businesses in commercial districts as they enter the next phases of reopening across the country.

The HartBeat of Main Street Grant Program will fund solutions that help small business owners respond and adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic, and also help to revitalize and strengthen older and historic downtown commercial districts.

Funding Information

Grants of $5,000 to $15,000 will be awarded on a competitive and first-come, first-served basis.
A minimum of 50 percent of grants will benefit diverse-owned businesses, as defined by the Small Business Administration as minority, woman, veteran, disabled, and/or LGBTQ-owned.

Eligibility Criteria

Businesses must meet the following criteria to apply:
- The business must be a business entity in good standing in the state in which it was formed and the state in which it does business.
- The applicant’s business has a “brick-and-mortar” location and operates in an older or historic main street, downtown or commercial district in the U.S.
- The applicant’s business employs 20 or fewer full time employees, including the owner.
- The applicant’s business has been in operation since January 1, 2019.
- The applicant is an owner of the business and is 18 years of age or older.
Eligible grant expenses include but are not limited to:
- Physical improvements to business space to meet relevant reopening requirements implemented because of COVID-19.
- Equipment to comply with public health and safety guidelines (i.e., touchless payment methods, automatic door open sensors, or disposable menus).
- Fees associated with expanding the business to e-commerce sales.
- Other professional services, such as business plan modifications.
- Rent, payroll, and other operating expenses.

Project Execution and Reporting

Grants must be used directly and solely for the purpose identified in the grant recipient’s Application and the grant agreement and otherwise in accordance with these Terms.
Each grant recipient must complete its project within six months after receipt of its grant. Each grant recipient must provide a final report to the Sponsor within seven months after receipt of its grant.
The final report shall include (i) a description of the final completed project, (ii) the impact of the final completed project, (iii) receipts from grant recipient confirming expenditure of grant funds in accordance with terms and conditions of the Program and (iv) photo documentation of physical improvements (before and after
photos), if applicable.
- Release of Liability
  - By submitting an Application, each applicant agrees to release, indemnify, discharge and hold harmless Sponsor, The Hartford, and their respective parents, affiliates, subsidiaries, and advertising and promotion agencies, and the respective officers, directors, shareholders, employees, agents and representatives of the foregoing (collectively, “Released Parties”) from any and all injuries, liability, losses and damages of any kind to persons, including death, or property resulting, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, from applicant’s Application, applicant’s participation in the Program or any Program-related activity, applicant’s acceptance of the grant and/or Sponsor’s or The Hartford’s use of the rights granted herein.
- General Conditions
  - Released Parties are not responsible for lost, late, incomplete, damaged, inaccurate, stolen, delayed, misdirected, undelivered, or garbled applications, messages, email or mail; or for lost, interrupted or unavailable network, server, Internet Service Provider (ISP), website, or other connections, availability or accessibility or miscommunications or failed computer, satellite, telephone or cable transmissions, lines, or technical failure or jumbled, scrambled, delayed, or misdirected transmissions or computer hardware or software malfunctions, failures or difficulties, or other errors or difficulties of any kind whether human, mechanical, electronic, computer, network, typographical, printing or otherwise relating to or in connection with the Program, including, without limitation, errors or difficulties which may occur in connection with the administration of the Program, the processing or reviewing of Applications, the announcement of the grants or in any Program-related materials. Released Parties are also not responsible for any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by site users, tampering, hacking, or by any equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Program. Released Parties are not responsible for injury or damage to any person’s computer related to or resulting from participating in the Program.
  - Persons who tamper with or abuse any aspect of the Program, who act in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner or who are in violation of these Terms, as solely determined by Sponsor, will be disqualified and all associated Applications will be void. Should any portion of the Program be, in Sponsor’s sole opinion, compromised by virus, worms, bugs, non-authorized human intervention or other causes which, in the sole opinion of the Sponsor, corrupt or impair the administration, security, fairness or proper submission of Applications, Sponsor reserves the right in its sole discretion to suspend, modify or terminate the Program and, if terminated, in its sole discretion, select the potential grant recipients from all eligible, non-suspect Applications received prior to action taken using the judging procedure outlined above or as otherwise deemed fair and appropriate by Sponsor.