All applicants must be based in the City of Bessemer.

Applicants must provide all of the following required documentation as part of the application in order to be eligible for funding. Additional documentation may be requested at a later date to comply with State and Federal laws and/or to best assess the status of small businesses and nonprofits. Applicants who meet federal documentation requirements and demonstrate the greatest financial need will be prioritized for funding. 

• A current City of Bessemer business license or current receipt showing renewal;
• Business address and, if a small business, home address;
• Current W9;
• Documentation that the annual revenue of the business or annual operating budget of the nonprofit is less than $1,000,000;
• If the applicant is a nonprofit, the IRS 501(c)(3) determination letter as proof of nonprofit status;
• Filed tax returns for the years 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, and 2019 in the business name if the applicant is a small business;
• Filed IRS Form-990s for the years 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, and 2019 if the applicant is a nonprofit (Form 990-N e-Postcards are also accepted);
• Supporting documents that demonstrate financial hardship during the pandemic such as decreased revenue or gross receipts, financial insecurity, increased costs, decreased capacity to weather financial hardship, or challenges covering payroll, rent or mortgage, or other operating costs.
  If you are unable to submit a 2022 filed tax return or IRS Form-990, please upload a statement documenting the status of your filing and expected completion date.
  As part of the supporting documents that demonstrate financial hardship due to the pandemic, applicants may also include tax returns or Form 990s from additional prior years.

Applicants must provide brief statements as part of the application that outline the following.

• How the pandemic negatively impacted the small business or nonprofit;
• How ARPA funds will be utilized if awarded;
• Any other pandemic relief funding that has been received to date.

Please note that the application form cannot be saved and returned to at a later time, so be sure to prepare your answers and organize your materials well in advance prior to submission. Due to the number of applicants, staff will not be able to respond to questions received on the day applications are due.

A copy of the Small Business application form can be found here.
A copy of the Nonprofit application form can be found here.