New Hurricane Recovery Grant for Locally Significant Businesses

Businesses who have been impacted by FEMA-declared disasters on or after January 1, 2024, can apply for one of 100 available $10,000 grants to aid in their recovery efforts.

Eligible small businesses:

• have been in operation on or before January 1, 2024,
• are located in a county/ parish/ borough listed as a Designated Area of a FEMA Declared Disaster with an incident date on or after January 1, 2024,
• operated out of a physical location (meaning “brick-and-mortar” location) in an older or historic main street, downtown, or commercial district in the United States or US territories at the time of such disaster,
• employ 20 or fewer full-time employees (including the company owners),
• are a registered business entity in good standing in the state in which it was formed and the state in which it does business (e.g., not an unincorporated contractor or self-employed individual),
• have not previously received a grant sponsored by American Express related to recovery from such disaster,
• are not part of a national franchise.
• Applicants must be an owner of the eligible small business and 18 years of age or older.

What Do They Mean by “Locally Significant?”

A small business with local significance is involved in and critical to the surrounding community and local culture. These businesses are often long-standing or legacy businesses that provide continuity and a sense of identity to a neighborhood.

Businesses with local significance have also been intentional about developing core values and a business model that supports their communities or addresses an acute community need. For example, a business that regularly hosts free concerts featuring local artists, or a shop that provides goods or services that are unique to the heritage and culture in the community.

Applications will be reviewed based on the following criteria:

Feasibility: Can the proposed project be completed with $10,000 in funding? If not, have other funding sources already been secured to cover any overages? Can the proposed project be realistically completed by September 30, 2025?

Need: What physical and/or economic loss has the business experienced due to the disaster?

Impact: How will the grant funds help the business recover from the disaster? Will the grant funds help the business return to normal operations in a brick-and-mortar location? Will the grant funds be used to help the business leverage sales, re-grow customer base, or better prepare the business in some way for a future disaster?

Community Significance: How involved is the applicant’s small business in their community, both in the present and historically? Does the business serve a community-specific need in its operation?

How to Apply

The grant application opened on Wednesday, May 7 and will close on Wednesday, May 21, 2025, at 12:59 p.m. Grant recipients will be notified in June 2025. Grant reports will be due in October 2025.

To apply, please go to mainstreet.org/about/partner-collaborations/backing-small-businesses.