Economic Development Director Heather Bregel and Midwest Detail Garage owner Adam Delacruz hold a check for $7,500 given to Delacruz after he met all of the program's requirements. For the first time in history, the amount awarded to each company has been reduced from his $10,000 to compensate for the record 14 companies accepted into the grant program.
NEW ULM — New Ulm’s 2024 Small Business Incentive Grants are now fully effective.
Of the 14 approved grants worth $7,500, eight have already been awarded to businesses within the first two months of 2024. This includes White Boxer Coffee, Rush, Midwest Detail Garage, and The Beauty Spot.
Economic Development Director Heather Bregel said the program was created in 2019 to support new businesses.
“The Small Business Incentive was launched by EDA in 2019 to help new businesses in New Ulm get through their critical first year with overhead costs.” she said. “Statistics show that companies that survive the first year tend to be successful in the long term.”
Not all businesses can apply for grants. Bregel said a number of qualifications must be met to be considered.
“Businesses must have a commercial address. The only home-based businesses that qualify are child care businesses. They must have 10 or fewer full-time equivalent employees. That's why we require them to be a small business. It's a way to judge.”
Cala Contemporary Woodwork, Little Explorers Daycare, Sippet Coffee and Bagels, and The CBD Center were the first businesses approved for the program. Three of his four businesses are still in business, and the one he closed was in business for three years.
From 2019 to 2023, 31 companies received grants. Of these, 26 businesses are still open. Of his five businesses that have closed, only one of his businesses closed before its first year.
The number of grants awarded per year depends on the availability of funds and interest rates. His five grants of $10,000 each were awarded for the first time in 2021 after no grant opportunities were taken up in the past two years. In 2022, that number doubled to 10 due to increased funding from litigation proceeds.
This year marks the largest number of grants ever awarded, with 14 businesses on the waiting list. To give grants to all businesses, the funding amount was reduced to his $7,500 and the total funding was increased to $105,000. This year marks the largest fundraising year in the program's history.
Bregel said the grants would only be awarded if a set of qualifications were met.
“If your business has been open for at least three months, you can receive a refund for your opening costs.” she said. “They need to provide proof of expenses and payments up to that amount. Whatever they invested, they need to prove that it was invested as a business expense.”
Businesses are eligible for the grant after they provide evidence that they spent $7,500 in business expenses, meet with city business consultant Wendy Anderson, and submit a business plan.
Bregel said the grant will continue to fluctuate and change from year to year as funding, demand and the city's needs change. This grant has now ended and applications will not reopen until November. Bregel said the city will focus on areas of need this year once it opens.
“There is no doubt that I am also a part of the child care facility.” she said. “We may want to focus more on restaurants rather than the beauty industry or insurance agencies. We look at trends and where we think there are gaps and consider: must be reached. [the EDA] Recommendations for specific types of businesses to receive funding are also included. ”
The city is also producing short articles about each project with the help of the grant. For more information on the businesses selected for grants in 2024, visit https://newulmbusiness.com/news/.
