Downtown Halifax Business Can Access Two Grants To Help Them Reopen
HALIFAX — Downtown Halifax businesses now have a little more help coping with Covid-19 thanks to a pair of new grants from the Downtown Halifax Business Commission.
The grants are available to any business in the Downtown Halifax catchment area. One will help subsidize the cost of setting up an e-commerce website, while the other will help businesses pay for unbudgeted physical distancing items.
Paul MacKinnon, the CEO of DHBC, says the grants will help small businesses that have “suddenly found themselves faced with unexpected and unprecedented new challenges” in the face of Covid-19.
“We understand that funds are tight, and the rapid pace of change can be overwhelming for small business owners to manage. These two grants will hopefully help business reopen safely, manage through the pandemic, and thrive beyond these challenging times,” MacKinnon said in a June 3 news release.
The first of the grants, the eCommerce Assistance Program, gives businesses up to $1,500 toward the cost of setting up an online store.
The DHBC has partnered with Twist & Bits Creative Agency as part of the program. The agency will help downtown Halifax businesses take their business online with a standard e-commerce website package offered at a discount rate.
The grant is retroactive to March 1, 2020, so if businesses have already created an e-commerce site in response to the pandemic they can still qualify for the program. Businesses also aren’t required to use Twist and Bits.
The second grant, the Back to Business Material Assistance Program, gives financial support to businesses and organizations “that suddenly find themselves with unbudgeted items they must purchase to safely get back to business and/or adjust to physical distancing requirements.”
Through the program, downtown Halifax businesses can receive up to $1,000 to buy physical distancing signage, plexiglass dividers, sanitization products, personal protective equipment, and other Covid-19 safety measures.
It is retroactive to Match 15.
According to DHBC spokesperson Ivy Ho, the funding for both grants is coming from the organization’s unused event sponsorship money, as most of the public events DHBC usually sponsors have been cancelled or postponed.
The deadline for both programs is June 17. Businesses in the Downtown Halifax catchment area can find more information, or apply for the grants, at the Downtown Halifax website.