Business Continuity Micro Enterprise Program Application 2

Please be advised

This program is closed as funds were exhausted.

This program provides eligible, for-profit microenterprise business owners in the City of Miami with a one-time grant award in an amount not to exceed $15,000 or 20% of year 2019 business annual gross revenue, whichever is less. The award must be used to cover expenditures that allowed businesses to remain viable and operational. This program is intended to help qualifying businesses that experienced a loss or reduction in revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Businesses that have already received financial assistance from a different City of Miami business assistance program such as microenterprise or small business programs do not qualify for this program.

Applicants are highly encouraged to apply via the online portal, which will be available on this web page starting July 7, 2021, 12 noon. Paper applications must be reviewed for completeness first and entered by staff into the web application portal which may delay the processing of your application. Applicants will be assisted on a first-come, first-ready, first-serve basis until funds are fully expended or until the end period of funding availability, whichever occurs first. Submission of an application does not guarantee you will receive any assistance. Any documents supplied to the City of Miami, whether online or in paper format, are considered public records and will not be returned.

The City reserves the right to close this application period when it receives sufficient applications, based on available program funding. Applications will be processed in the order in which they are entered and submitted through the web portal. Once an application is assigned to staff for processing, your business may be notified, using the email address provided in your application, if any required supporting document(s) is missing and provide your business with a due date to submit the pending documentation. Failure to submit the requested document(s) on or prior to the due date will withdraw your submission. Paper applications missing more than 3 required documents will be rejected.

Steps

Eligibility

 

1. Must be a Micro-Enterprise defined as an operating for-profit business having no more than five (5) employees, one or more of these (employees) owns the business.
2. Business revenue must not exceed $500,000, as determined by the business tax returns submitted to the IRS for 2019.
3. 
Business owner must have an monthly income of less than or equal to 80% of AMI, adjusted for family size.
4. 
Business must be located within the boundaries of the City of Miami. To verify your business is located in the City of Miami, please access the Miami-Dade Property Appraiser website and perform a property search by your business address. If the results display a “FOLIO” number that starts with “01-XXXX-XX-XXXX”, your business meets this eligibility requirement.
5. Business was registered with State of Florida prior to September 1, 2019.
6.Business has a City of Miami-issued Certificate of Use/Accessory of Use and is current with its Business Tax Receipt (BTR) payments.     
7. Business suffered a loss of revenue as a result of COVID-19 starting on March 1, 2020.
8. Business is currently open and up to date with all financial obligations with the City of Miami.
9. Must comply with all regulations, guidelines, and policies as they relate to the program.

Required Documentation 

Copies of the following must be submitted as part of the application 

  1. Copy of Florida Picture ID of person applying for assistance which must be a business owner or a registered agent.
  2. Business Tax Returns (to calculate maximum amount of assistance).
    • Sole proprietorship – Form 1040, US Individual Income Tax Return, with Schedule C “Profit or Loss from Business”.
    • Partnership – Form 1065, US Return of Partnership Income, Schedule K-1 “Partners Share of Income, Deductions, Credits, etc.”
    • Corporation – Form 1120, US Corporation Income Tax Return.
    • S-Corporation – Form 1120S, US S-Corporation Income Tax Return.
  3. Copy of latest RT-6 form “Florida Department of Revenue Employer’s Quarterly Report”.
  4. Proof of loss or reduction of revenue as a result of COVID-19 after March 1, 2020. Quarterly P&L Statements for all four (4) quarters of 2020 is required.
  5. Copy of City of Miami-issued Certificate of Use/Accessory of Use and Local Business Tax Receipt Card. Must be current and up to date.
  6. Proof of your business having a DUNS Number, which includes a printout from fedgov.dnb.com or an e-mail received from them showing the business DUNS number. If you applied for a DUNS Number and have not received it yet, you can submit proof that you have applied for it.
  7. Proof of current household income for microenterprise owner. 
  8. Completed and signed W-9 Form matching the business’ name to the one in the application.
  9. Proof of payment – Must have been incurred after March 1, 2020 and must NOT have been paid by other COVID-19 relief program from either federal, state or local sources. All expenses must be related to business operations and under the business name. The program will cover (1) rental/mortgage payments – if past due rent is being requested, the landlord must complete the Program’s Rent Verification Form; (2) utility/insurances/licenses and bills; (3) employee salaries. NOTE: Please see application for complete details on what is considered acceptable proof of payment.
  10. For paper applications, additional programmatic certifications/affidavits are being provided and include: (1) Business Continuity Microenterprise Assistance Program II Affidavit (notarization required); (2) Public Records Disclosure and Acknowledgment; (3) Acknowledgement and Acceptance of the Program Rules and Requirements (notarization required). For applications submitted online, agreeance to all certifications/ acknowledgements are embedded in the submission.

Please Read Rules & Regulations  

Rules and Regulations - Downloadable Copy

Apply

Before you begin the online application process, please ensure that you have assembled all the documents you will be required to attach to your application. You will need to upload them to the online application. If you need technical help with this process, please select the Troubleshooting option on this web page.

In order to fill out and submit your application in the online portal, you must create a username and password. You are asked to make a note of these two unique identifiers, as they will allow you to stop and return to your application at a later time, if necessary. Please do not submit more than one application per business. 

APPLY HERE

If you do not have computer access, you can download/print paper applications here and submit, along with the Required Documentation, to the Mail Dropbox indicated. Please note that submitted paper applications must be reviewed by a city staff for completeness first and will then be entered into the online application portal which may delay the processing of your application. As noted before, applications are assigned to processing staff following the order in which they were submitted in the online portal. Therefore, we strongly encourage you to apply online.

Paper applications can be downloaded and printed from below (see links). Interested persons can also pick up a paper application at one of the City’s Neighborhood Service Centers.  

English Application
Spanish Application
Creole Application  

NOTE: Any documents supplied to the City of Miami as part of this application, whether supplied online or in paper format, are considered public records and will not be returned. Guidelines, forms, and other documents utilized for this program are subject to change from time to time to ensure proper utilization of public funding.

Troubleshooting

Here are some quick and easy troubleshooting tips for you to explore:

  • If you are having technical issues when submitting online, please look for the Question (?) symbol in the bottom right corner of the screen to submit your request for assistance.
  • Recommended browser is Chrome
  • Be sure JavaScript is enabled in your browser
  • When you upload documents, upload ONLY documents saved as: Microsoft Word (.doc, .docx) Adobe Acrobat PDF Files (.pdf) Image Files (.jpg, .jpeg, .bmp, .png, .tiff).
  • It is recommended you access the online application utilizing a desktop or laptop computer connected to the internet. However, you can also utilize an android-based mobile device (cellphone). Please note that there have been reported issues accessing some of the application functions with Apple© products such as iPads and iPhones; therefore, these Apple© devices could be utilized, but are not recommended.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

  1. How do I know if my application was received via the online platform? Once you submit a final application, you will receive an e-mail indicating submission with a case ID number.
  2. Once I apply, how long will it take for me to be contacted? Applications are reviewed in the order in which they are received. Please check the applicant waitlist sorted by case ID number to find out which application numbers staff are currently processing. 
  3. What happens if I am ineligible? If your application is determined to be ineligible, you will receive an e-mail indicating the reason why that determination was made. 
  4. If approved, how quickly will I receive assistance? If approved, you will be required to execute a contract with the City of Miami. This process may take between 2-4 weeks. Once the contract is executed, you will be asked to submit a ‘reimbursement request form that will contain all the backup documentation for the expenditures you are requesting to be reimbursed.
  5. Do I need to sign a contract as part of this agreement? Yes
  6. How many businesses can be assisted via this program? This program was allocated $1 million in funding, so we anticipate assisting approximately 65-75 businesses.
  7. Where is the funding from this program coming from? These funds come from the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, through the Coronavirus Relief Fund. Congress designated a portion of these funds to go to local governments to meet urgent financial needs incurred due to the COVID-19 pandemic within communities.
  8. Is there a deadline for this program? No. The application period will remain open while funds remain available, but should we receive sufficient applications based on the funding available, we will close the application period at that time.
  9. Are home-based businesses eligible? Yes, home-based businesses may qualify. Please refer to the Rules and Requirements for a full list of ineligible businesses.
  10. Can I submit more than one application? No. Submission of more than one application per business may be grounds for disqualification.