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Main Street Recovery Program Sees $32M Invested in 2024

The New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) announced that in 2024 it issued more than $32 million in grants and loans to more than 1,200 small businesses through the Main Street Recovery Program. Created under Gov. Phil Murphy’s Economic Recovery Act (ERA), the Main Street Recovery Program provides a suite of products designed to support New Jersey small businesses.

Since the program launched in 2021, the NJEDA has awarded approximately $167 million to more than 5,000 small businesses across the state. Including the $700 million in pandemic relief that the NJEDA provided to small businesses before the Main Street Recovery Program launched, the Authority has distributed a total of nearly $1 billion to bolster small businesses throughout New Jersey.

“Under Governor Murphy’s leadership, New Jersey remains committed to supporting small businesses with a range of resources designed to equip them for success,” said NJEDA Chief Executive Officer Tim Sullivan. “When the pandemic struck, the NJEDA, through the Economic Recovery Act, worked tirelessly to develop programs that infused millions of dollars into New Jersey’s local economies. Today, the Main Street Recovery Program continues to assist thousands of small businesses by helping them grow, expand, and thrive.”

The Main Street Recovery Program was originally designed to help small businesses stay open during the pandemic and support their growth and success in its aftermath. Years after the height of the pandemic, the program is continuing to support mom and pop shops along New Jersey’s main streets.

The following programs are part of the Main Street Recovery suite:

  • Small Business Lease Grant: supports the growth and success of small businesses and non-profits by providing grant funding to cover a portion of lease payments for businesses and non-profits leasing new or additional space.
  • Small Business Improvement Grant: offers reimbursement for costs associated with making building improvements or purchasing new furniture, fixtures, and equipment.
  • Main Street Lenders Grant: provides grants to eligible micro business lenders, which the lenders can use to create new loan micro business loan products or supplement existing micro business loan products. Lenders can also qualify for additional grant funding to provide technical assistance to micro businesses, to better prepare these businesses to qualify for loan products.
  • Main Street Acquisition Support Grant: will offer a grant of up to $50,000 to reimburse an eligible small New Jersey business for closing costs related to a New Jersey commercial property that the business purchased to operate from.
  • Small Business E-Commerce Support Program: provides free e-commerce and digital marketing consulting services to New Jersey small businesses in the restaurant, retail and personal care industries that operate from a commercial location. The NJEDA has partnered with consultants to assist eligible small businesses with e-commerce services.
  • Main Street Micro Business Loan: will provide financing of up to $50,000 to eligible micro businesses in New Jersey with 10 or fewer full-time employees and no greater than $1.5 million in annual revenues.

“As a small business owner, we are often forced to choose one essential project over another because of financial limitations. I was truly honored that my business was selected to receive a grant for a new website, and I couldn’t be happier with the end results,” said Cranford-based Reach for the Stars owner Lisa Jiannetto-Surrusco, whose business utilized NJEDA’s E-Commerce Program. “The grant enabled me to get this project done, while allocating the saved money for vital necessities like therapy and testing materials, professional development for the staff, and potential expansion of our menu of services.”

To access more business news, visit NJB News Now.

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