PORTLAND, Maine — The City of Portland is working hard to get available grants to people who are eligible by the end of 2024. There are microenterprise grants available thanks to some remaining federal COVID relief funds granted to the city.
City of Portland Business Programs Manager Nancy Martin said small businesses are a critical part of Portland's economy.
"These grants are designed to help them address the lasting impacts of the COVID pandemic," Martin said.
Factory 3 in Portland is a makerspace where you pay a membership to use all of the equipment available. They have things like a full wood shop, a metal shop, and sewing areas. You can rent spaces to use the equipment available for your own craft, or to teach classes on a trade.
"There are so many creative people in this city, it's what brought me here 15 years ago. Since I moved here 15 years ago, I've seen the rents rising up and up and it moved a lot of makers outside the city, it's very hard to find industrial workspace and the cost to start a small business, to purchase the equipment, and rent a commercial building is prohibitive for a lot of people," Factory 3 owner Patrick Russell said.
Of the $400,000 allocated for this latest round of microenterprise grants, approximately $100,000 is still available for businesses and nonprofits located in Portland.
Awards of up to $5,000 are made on a reimbursable basis to support business expenses such as rent, payroll, and professional services like advertising, marketing, and accounting.
Here are the eligibility requirements for the microenterprise grants:
- The business must have seven or fewer employees (including the owner)
- Be located in Portland
- The owner's household income must be within 80% of local median income
- Nonprofit organizations with annual operating budgets of $150,000 or less that serve low-income populations are also eligible to apply
To apply, the business needs to submit an application along with several supporting documents, which are all available here at this link.
"I know when I was in high school, we were encouraged to go to a college and work in an office, and it's great to do that but we need people that have the skills to build and fix the worlds around us, and you can learn a lot of that right here in a makerspace. We offer training classes on all of our equipment, it's a great place to get started in the trades," Russell said regarding what pushed him to open his small business in Portland.
