Grant Preference

Eligibility for the MN PROMISE Act Grant is based on active business status and years in business, geography, and your business’s gross annual revenue.

Preference Structure

Which eligible businesses receive preference for grant funding? The following circumstances are taken into account:

  • PREVIOUS ASSISTANCE: Did not receive more than $10,000 of previous COVID assistance, from the following programs: Minnesota Small Business Emergency Loan Program, Minnesota Small Business Relief Grants, Minnesota County Relief Grants to Local Businesses, and Minnesota Movie Theater and Convention Center Grant

  • FINANCIAL HARDSHIP: Can demonstrate financial hardship, defined as a 10% decline in gross revenue OR a decrease in net income, as demonstrated by the two years of submitted tax documents.

    • Applicants can submit official tax returns from either 2021-2022 OR 2022-2023

    • Tax returns submitted must be official, filed copies

Preference Score

The first criteria to determine grant awardees is preference score. Businesses are given a preference score based on previous assistance and loss of revenue. In addition, a specific amount of funding is reserved for businesses in each geography that earned less than $100,000 in revenue in the prior year. More details here.


FOR EXAMPLE 

Business A

  • Received less than $10,000 of previous COVID assistance, from the following programs: Minnesota Small Business Emergency Loan Program, Minnesota Small Business Relief Grants, Minnesota County Relief Grants to Local Businesses, and Minnesota Movie Theater and Convention Center Grant. 

  • Their tax returns showed a loss of revenue from the first year of submitted returns to the second. 

They have a PREFERENCE SCORE OF TWO 
 
Business B

  • Received more than $10,000 of previous COVID assistance, from the following programs: Minnesota Small Business Emergency Loan Program, Minnesota Small Business Relief Grants, Minnesota County Relief Grants to Local Businesses, and Minnesota Movie Theater and Convention Center Grant. 

  • Their tax returns showed a loss of revenue from the first year of submitted returns to the second. 

They have a PREFERENCE SCORE OF ONE 
 
Business C 

  • Received more than $10,000 of previous COVID assistance, from the following programs: Minnesota Small Business Emergency Loan Program, Minnesota Small Business Relief Grants, Minnesota County Relief Grants to Local Businesses, and Minnesota Movie Theater and Convention Center Grant. 

  • Their tax returns showed that they made more money in the second year of submitted returns than they did in the first year of submitted tax returns. 

They have a PREFERENCE SCORE OF ZERO 

Businesses A, B, and C met all program eligibility requirements and completed/submitted their application in full by the identified deadlines. Applications with a preference score of TWO are prioritized over those with a preference score of ONE or ZERO. In this scenario, Business A, with a preference score of TWO, would be prioritized.

Randomization 

The second criteria used to determine grant awardees is randomization. Each application is assigned a random number. The lower the number, the higher the likelihood that a business will receive a grant award. 

FOR EXAMPLE 
Business A, with a preference score of TWO, is randomly assigned the number 1327 
Business D, with a preference score of TWO, is randomly assigned the number 56 

In this scenario, Business D is more likely to get a grant than Business A. They are not guaranteed to receive a grant, as only about 25% of businesses who apply will receive a grant. 

*Neither eligibility nor preference guarantees that a business will receive an award.

Please note that all details provided are subject to change. We will make every effort to communicate any updates or modifications as they occur.