January 29, 2021

Bolinsky: New COVID-19 Relief Program Designed to Provide Cash Grants to Women Entrepreneurs Disproportionately Impacted by the Pandemic

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Equity Match Grant Program will help entrepreneurs access the capital needed to build banking relationships, improve credit, and overcome COVID-19 challenges

State Rep. Mitch Bolinsky today announced that a new COVID-19 relief program designed to provide much-needed cash grants to women entrepreneurs disproportionately impacted by the pandemic was unveiled by Lt. Governor Susan Bysiewicz, the Women’s Business Development Council, and the state Department of Economic and Community Development

Research shows of the more than 60,000 Connecticut businesses that secured federal loans for COVID-19 relief, an overwhelming majority were male or white-owned: 78 percent were male-owned; 84 percent were white-owned; seven percent were Asian-owned; six percent were Hispanic-owned; and three percent were Black-owned.

The Equity Match Grant Program, which will be administered by the Women’s Business Development Council through its Opportunity Fund, will aid entrepreneurs in accessing the capital needed to build banking relationships, improve credit, and overcome challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Initially launched in August 2020, the Equity Match Grant Program has since received support from corporate and private investors and statewide officials.

Together, Lt. Governor Bysiewicz and Fran Pastore, CEO of the Women’s Business Development Council, raised $525,000 in funds. The state Department of Economic and Community Development will match the funds up to $500,000, bringing the total amount of funds available in the Equity Match Grant Program to more than $1 million.

The Women’s Business Development Council’s Equity Match Grant Program received contributions from the following corporate and private funders:

Webster Bank, $100,000
Anonymous donor, $25,000
M&T Bank, $50,000
Travelers Insurance, $25,000
Guilford Savings Bank, $25,000
People’s United Bank, $50,000
BNY Mellon, $25,000
Fairfield County Bank, $25,000
Liberty Bank, $25,000
Key Bank, $25,000
Ion Bank, $10,000
First County Bank, $5,000
Chelsea Groton Bank, $25,000
Greg Berhman, $100,000
Essex Bank: $10,000

These funds have already been put to use by women-owned small businesses in Connecticut, with more than nearly a dozen microgrants awarded in the last 60 days.

Funds from the Equity Match Grant Program can be used to purchase critical business assets such as the personal protective equipment needed to comply with reopening guidelines, or to pivot to an online business model which will help the company increase revenue and improve its cash flow.

Grants between $2,500 and $10,00 may be given for clearly defined projects that will have a measurable impact on the business. Applicants are required to provide a 25 percent match.

To qualify to apply for an Equity Match Grant businesses should:

Be a woman-owned business;
Have prior participation in WBDC programs/ services;
Be in business with record of sales for a minimum of one year;
Be registered in Connecticut and in good standing with the state;
Utilize an online/ automated financial system; or
Have an established business-banking relationship.

Apply for the Equity Match Grant Program here.

To learn more about the Equity Match Grant Program and receive updated funder information, contact microgrants@ctwbdc.org.