Not Eligible for the PROMISE Act?

You, as a constituent, can advocate for yourself and your business by contacting your State Representative and State Senator to let them know you are not eligible for a MN PROMISE Act Grant. They need to hear from YOU as their constituent. We recommend reaching out to BOTH your State Senators and State Representatives for the address where your business is located, AND your home address.

If you email your representatives, please cc: promiseact@ndc-mn.org so we can also advocate on your behalf!

You can find your representative: HERE. We’ve created an e-mail template below - feel free to copy and paste to send to your representative. Don’t forget to fill in the blanks with your personal information.

Representative Outreach
E-mail Template

Hello Senator/Representative,

My name is [Name], and I’m one of your constituents. I’m emailing about the PROMISE Act Grants Program in the Twin Cities Area, passed in the 2023 legislative session.

The PROMISE Act Grants Program in the Twin Cities Area is meant to support small businesses that suffered from the civil unrest that occurred during 2020 and economic hardship resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. They must be in a community adversely affected by structural racial discrimination, civil unrest, lack of access to capital, and similar challenges. Current eligibility, including location eligibility, is locked.

Under the current guidelines and legislation, I am not eligible for the PROMISE Act Grants Funding, however, I believe my business should be eligible for funding, and would benefit greatly from a small business grant program like the PROMISE Act.

My business address is [insert business address], which is not in an eligible neighborhood. The nearest eligible neighborhood is [insert nearest eligible neighborhood]. The arbitrary neighborhood definitions outlined by the law fail to acknowledge that the civil unrest and the pandemic impacted all Minnesotans, irrespective of neighborhood. Although the program is intended to be statewide, it excludes the five-county metro areas, which are still grappling with structural racism, civil unrest, and the pandemic.

Should the PROMISE Act Program continue for the next biennium (2026-2028), I believe the program should be expanded to include individuals like me. I believe my business and many others would benefit from additional funding into PROMISE Act in future years to address the geographies left out of this opportunity.

Thank you for reading my concerns and my story.

Sincerely,

[Name]
[Address]
[Phone number]