West Hartford Accepting Applications For Pandemic Aid

WEST HARTFORD, CT — The town Wednesday officially started accepting applications from businesses and nonprofits for up to $10,000 in assistance to recover from the pandemic.

Called the "Small Business and Nonprofit Recovery Grant Program," the funding provides one-time financial assistance up to $10,000 to eligible West Hartford businesses and nonprofit organizations.

To qualify, organizations and business must have 50 or fewer full-time employees with operations in West Hartford since January 2020.

They also must demonstrate they have been adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The West Hartford Town Council has allocated $2 million to support this program, which is made possible with entitlement funds from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), also known as Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF).

The eligibility requirements, projects, grant guidelines and application are found on the Town of West Hartford’s economic development webpage.

The Town in partnership with the West Hartford Chamber of Commerce held two informational webinars earlier this month to introduce the program, both with extensive question and answer sessions.

The recordings can be viewed here:

• July 6 information session 1

• July 12 information session 2

Staff has compiled a list of frequently asked questions received through both webinars as well as the ARPAgrants@westhartfordct.gov email, which are now available on the webpage for guidance.

The application acceptance period begins July 20 and runs through Wednesday, Aug. 10, at 4:30 p.m.

If the town has not awarded the entire allocated amount of $2 million by Aug. 10, the application period will be extended until all of the monies are awarded.

Businesses can make an appointment with Denise Whitford, business advisor with Connecticut Small Business Development Center.

Whitford offers in-person free, confidential, one-on-one advising at West Hartford Town Hall on Mondays, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

She can be reached at 860-576-5135 or denise.whitford@uconn.edu to schedule an appointment.

Those interested can continue to send questions about eligibility and program guidelines to ARPAgrants@westhartfordct.gov.