All applicants must provide 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.

• A current City of Birmingham business license;
• Business address and, if a small business, home address;
• 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;
• The two most recently filed tax returns in the business name if the applicant is a small business;
• The two most recently filed IRS Form-990s 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.
  Applicants may include tax returns or Form 990s from additional prior years as part of the documentation to demonstrate financial hardship during the pandemic.

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 Creative Industries Grant Program 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. While applications may be submitted until 11:59 pm on Friday, June 30, please contact staff with any questions regarding your application no later than 5:00 pm on Thursday, June 29. 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.