The City of Scranton will open grant applications on Monday, Sept. 26, 2022, for two programs designed to help small businesses with a total of $1.75 million in funding. Grants are available as a portion of the City’s total $68.7 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding.
“Small businesses and locally owned businesses are the backbone of Scranton’s economy,” said Mayor Paige G. Cognetti. “With our partners across the City, these grant programs will help renovate storefronts and invite entrepreneurs to pursue their dreams without leaving their hometown.”
Scranton has allocated $1.25 million in ARPA funds for business startup grants. Awards are available for up to five percent of the total startup or expansion costs between $6,000 and $100,000. Business franchises are not eligible. The Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce and Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania will help review applications.
New ARPA grants are in addition to existing City programs including the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Small Business Micro-Grant program and the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Loan-to-Grant program.
ARPA funding is also available for business façade improvements. Scranton will partner with three key organizations to oversee $500,000 in grants for the revitalization of neighborhood and downtown businesses across the City:
- NeighborWorks Northeastern Pennsylvania will aid businesses in West and North Scranton.
- Scranton Tomorrow will be the point of contact for downtown and Hill Section businesses.
- United Neighborhood Centers of Northeastern Pennsylvania will oversee improvements in South Scranton and the City’s Pine Brook and Minooka sections.
Façade grants are available for up to $10,000 with a 25 percent match for single storefronts. If multiple eligible small businesses share the same façade, they can submit a joint application for upgrades of up to $20,000 with the same 25 percent match.
Officials made the joint announcement at Vincenzo’s Pizzeria and Catering, 131 N. Main Ave., Scranton. After three decades in business, Vincenzo’s recently opened an outdoor patio and bar space which owner Vincenzo Cicco hopes to support with a façade grant program established by NeighborWorks earlier this year. Renovations were designed by Cicco’s son Antonio Cicco of Fancy Parsley Architecture + Design.
Organizations can access the startup grant applications at www.scrantonpa.gov/arpa. Facade grant applications will be available through each of the partner organizations.
Groups are also invited to register at www.bit.ly/arpabiz1 for a webinar outlining the grant process on Friday, Sept. 23, at 2 p.m. Applications will remain open for one year, and applications are first-come, first-served.
ABOUT THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT (ARPA) OF 2021: ARPA is a $1.9 trillion federal economic stimulus bill. The City of Scranton has been awarded $68.7 million in ARPA funds to respond to the COVID-19 public health emergency and its economic impacts. The mission of Scranton’s ARPA program is to give people access to resources, rebuild the infrastructure systems that impact their everyday lives, and foster equitable wealth generation that targets the needs of Scranton residents.
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