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星期二, 8月 31, 2021

Kim Janey針對餐館及小企業推出940萬元紓困基金

 

                      (Boston Orange編譯)波士頓代市長Kim Janey(31)日宣佈,動用市府營運投資經費,以及聯邦美國元就計畫法案經費,推出「餐館重振基金」、「小企業紓困基金2.0」等2項,共等於940萬元的紓困基金,要幫助市內小企業因應新冠病毒疫情,順利重新開業。

                  98日起在網上以英語,西班牙語等11種語言接受申請,boston.gov/small-business

                    波士頓市內約有4萬家小企業,因為新冠病毒疫情,不但面對著前所未有的財務困難,還為請不到員工掙扎。波士頓市經濟發展辦公室(OED)20216月舉辦了一系列的圓桌會議,就市府可以如何更好的支援餐館業者,向企業主徵詢意見,另外還持續做各行各業的小企業主的意見調查,以期在更公平基礎上直接回應小企業的需要。

                   餐館重振基金部分,是一項為期3個月,和市長的人力發展局(OWD)合作的試驗計畫,有3項主要內容,包括補助款,員工獎勵,市場行銷。

                    餐館業者可能符合資格申請2種補助,一為5000元的營運開銷補助,可用於包括繳付租金,發薪水,備庫存等,一為作為公平薪資法(One Fair Wage initiative)的一部分,員工以小費為薪資的餐館,可申請15000元,用於把小費員工的薪資提高到每小時12.75元。

                     員工獎勵部分,是900元的留任津貼,凡是在小企業內留任或新任的餐館員工,持續工作3個月。為那些在餐館持續工作2年的員工們,提供上大學或參加培訓項目的學費援助,在試驗項目進行期間,每名員工每工作一個月,可得100B-Local點數。

                     市場行銷部分,製作公告廣告,展示提供好薪資及福利的優良雇主。這一廣告只在為波士頓餐館業吸引員工。波士頓市經濟發展辦公室將於9月份向符合資格的市場行銷顧問發出公開招標書。市府網站的供應商門戶網站上也將有招標書可下載。

                     所有的申請書都可在市政府網站上找到,boston.gov/restaurant-relief

                    小企業紓困基金2.0將重啟20204月推出的小企業紓困基金。2.0版本的補助款將高至2萬元。這些補助款至載幫助受打擊最種行業來支付營運開銷。波士頓市政府迄今已發出670萬元給1850家小企業。

                申請人將獲邀以一份申請書申請2種不同的補助,一為紓困補助,高達1萬元的補助款,用於幫助小企業償還欠租,該繳的貸款,貨款,薪資,或其他的固定開支。另一為成長補助,高達1萬元的支持企業成長費用,可用於工具,科技,材料,人事或其他相關開銷。

               申請表可上網boston.gov/business-relief

                 位於波士頓市內,員工少於25人的小企業,都有資格申請。98日起,申請者就可上網,以11種語言下載申請書。

               波士頓市將於92(週二)早上8點,以及98(週三)下午5點半,在臉書(facebook),以及zoom(bit.ly/SBRFinfo)上舉辦說明會。有意申請者,也可參加小企業辦公室每週五早上9點到11點,以及下午2點到4點在網上舉辦的週會,bit.ly/smallbizofficehours

MAYOR JANEY ANNOUNCES RELIEF FUNDS FOR RESTAURANTS AND SMALL BUSINESSES

Totaling a $9.4 million investment, the City seeks to assist businesses in their recovery

 

BOSTON - Tuesday, August 31, 2021 - Today, Mayor Kim Janey announced that the City of Boston will launch two relief funds for small businesses in the City of Boston to aid business owners in their reopening and recovery from COVID-19. The Restaurant Revitalization Fund and the Small Business Relief Fund 2.0 represent a joint $9.4 million investment into local businesses and workers in neighborhoods across the City from new FY22 operating investments and the federal American Rescue Plan Act. The online applications will be available starting Wednesday, September 8, 2021 on boston.gov/small-business in English, Spanish, and nine additional languages.

“The success of small businesses is crucial to helping working families and to maintaining the unique character of Boston’s different neighborhoods,” said Mayor Janey. “This program aims to help Boston’s economy recover by incentivizing our workers and ensuring that our business owners have all of the resources necessary for a successful reopening.” 

There are approximately 40,000 small businesses in the City of Boston, which have faced unprecedented financial hardship during the pandemic and now are struggling to attract and retain workers. Led by Mayor Janey, the Office of Economic Development (OED) conducted a roundtable discussion in June 2021 with business owners to solicit ideas on how the City can better support restaurants during the reopening and recovery of our economy. In response to that feedback, as well as ongoing surveys with small business owners of all sectors, the City of Boston is responding directly to those needs to build back stronger and more equitably.

“By leveraging federal funding and new city operating investments, the City of Boston is ready to support our local businesses as well as workers to ensure an equitable recovery,” said Midori Morikawa, Interim Chief of Economic Development. “Working in partnership with the Office of Workforce Development, this critical support will benefit workers through fair wages, retention bonus incentives, and continuing education opportunities as well as businesses owners’ needs, from relief to growth plans.”

Restaurant Revitalization Fund 

The new Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF), a three-month pilot program in partnership with the Mayor’s Office of Workforce Development (OWD), will provide a much needed lifeline to restaurants as they recover from COVID-19. The three key components of the RRF are: 

·    Grants: restaurant business owners may be eligible for both of these grant funds:

·    All Restaurants: a $5,000 grant for business expenses including rent, payroll, or inventory;

·    Restaurants with Tipped Employees: a $15,000 grant to increase payroll for tipped employees to $12.75 per hour as a part of the One Fair Wage initiative; 

·    Employee Incentives: a $900 retention bonus to attract and retain restaurant workers for new and existing employees that continue employment at the small business for the continuous pilot 3-month period; tuition assistance for college or training programs to those retained workers for two years while working at a restaurant; and 100 B-Local Points per employee for each month of continuous employment during the pilot program.

·    Marketing Campaign: a public awareness campaign featuring RRF restaurants as “champion” employers offering good wages and benefits. The campaign aims to attract workers across the restaurant industry in Boston. A public Request for Proposals (RFP) from qualified marketing consultants will be released by the Office of Economic Development in September 2021. The RFP will be available on the City of Boston Supplier Portal.

Applications will be available at boston.gov/restaurant-relief.

Small Business Relief Fund 2.0

The Small Business Relief Fund 2.0 (SBRF 2.0) will reopen the Small Business Relief Fund initially launched in April 2020. The SBRF 2.0 will issue grants up to $20,000 to small businesses. These grants would be designed to help businesses in the hardest hit industries cover all business expenses to help their recovery and growth. To date, the Small Business Fund has issued $6.7 million in grants to more than 1,850 businesses. Applicants will be invited to apply in one consolidated application for two different funding options:

1.  Relief Grant: up to $10,000 in grant funding to support outstanding debts for rent/mortgage, inventory, payroll, or fixed expenses; and/or

2.  Growth Grant: up to $10,000 in grant funding to support business growth through tools, technology, materials, personnel, or other costs associated with investing in the growth of the business.

Applications will be available at boston.gov/business-relief.

How to apply: 

Small businesses located in the City of Boston with 25 employees or fewer may be eligible for one or both of these funding opportunities. Business owners can visit boston.gov/small-business for more information and eligibility criteria. The online applications will be available starting Wednesday, September 8, 2021 on boston.gov/small-business in English, Spanish, and nine additional languages.

To learn more about these opportunities, the City of Boston will be offering virtual information sessions on Thursday, September 2 at 8:00 a.m and Wednesday, September 8 at 5:30 p.m. and streamed live on Facebook or via Zoom on ​​bit.ly/SBRFinfo. Interested applicants can also join the weekly Small Business Office Hours on Friday, September 3 from 9:00 - 11:00 a.m. or 2:00 - 4:00 p.m. at bit.ly/smallbizofficehours.

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