Hurricane program – Hurricane campaign program

Hurricane Campaign Program

Emergency Bridge

Grant Program

Hurricane Campaign Program is Emergency Bridge program provides working capital Grant that are intended to “bridge the gap” between the time a disaster impacts a business and when a business has secured longer term recovery funding such as federally or commercially available loans, insurance claims or other resources.

Grant made under this program No Repayment, personal Grant using State funds – they are grants and No repaid. Small Business Emergency Bridge Grants require No repayment by the approved applicant. Owners may utilize funding from longer term financial resources, such as U.S. Small Business Administration economic injury disaster Grants, to repay the Emergency Bridge Grants.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

Grant are available up to $1,000 per business per eligible applicant. Grant of up to $100,000 are available for agriculture and aquaculture small businesses
Grant made through this program are two year, zero-interest, personal business Grants.
Hurricane Program Campaign Grants require repayment by the applicant.
Owners may utilize funding from longer term financial resources, such as U.S. Small Business Administration Economic Injury Disaster Grants, to repay the Emergency Bridge Grant

Granting Guidelines

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

Businesses in eligible counties are invited to apply.

Hurricane Debby eligible counties: Columbia, Dixie, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Lafayette, Levy, Manatee, Sarasota, Suwannee, and Taylor Counties.

Hurricane Helene eligible counties: Alachua, Baker, Bay, Bradford, Brevard, Calhoun, Charlotte, Citrus, Clay, Collier, Columbia, DeSoto, Dixie, Duval, Escambia, Flagler, Franklin, Gadsden, Gilchrist, Glades, Gulf, Hamilton, Hardee, Hendry, Hernando, Highlands, Hillsborough, Holmes, Jackson, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lake, Lee, Leon, Levy, Liberty, Madison, Manatee, Marion, Monroe, Nassau, Okaloosa, Okeechobee, Orange, Osceola, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Putnam, Santa Rosa, Sarasota, Seminole, St. Johns, Sumter, Suwannee, Taylor, Union, Volusia, Wakulla, Walton, and Washington counties.

Hurricane Milton eligible counties: Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Brevard, Broward, Charlotte, Citrus, Clay, Collier, Columbia, DeSoto, Dixie, Duval, Flagler, Gilchrist, Glades, Hamilton, Hardee, Hendry, Hernando, Highlands, Hillsborough, Indian River, Lafayette, Lake, Lee, Levy, Madison, Manatee, Marion, Martin, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Nassau, Okeechobee, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Putnam, Sarasota, Seminole, St. Johns, St. Lucie, Sumter, Suwanee, Taylor, Union, and Volusia counties.

Business must have been established prior to the storm.
Businesses with less than 100 employees, including sole proprietors, are eligible.
Applicants must have a credit score of 550 or above.

GRANT TERMS

Grants may only be made to individuals who own at least 51% of an eligible business.

Ineligible businesses include those engaged in illegal activities, grant packaging, speculation, multi-sales distribution, gambling, investment or lending, or where the business owner is on parole.

Required Documents

The following documents are required for all owners on the application to be considered complete:

A copy of the owner(s) driver's license(s) or passport(s) for all owners on the application. This must include the front and back of the document.
Current Business Tax Return, Most Current Year (All Pages) at a minimum, previous year’s Federal income tax returns for the applicant’s business, including all schedules, such as Form 1040, Form 1065, Form 1120, and Form 1120S (as applicable).
Current Personal Tax Return, Most Current Year (All Pages) for all owners on the application.
Documentation showing minimum of 2 employees or sole proprietorship (independent contractors or 1099s do count as employees). Documentation can be copies of employees’ W-2s, IRS Form 941 and/or Employer's Quarterly Federal Tax Return. Sole proprietors may also submit a copy of their business license.
Copy of a voided check
IRS transcripts are accessible at https://hurricanecampaignprogram.info/apply-now/

Additional Information

You will need to complete all sections and upload all required documents for your application to be considered complete and proceed to the review and loan decision process.

If you have any additional questions regarding our Grant programs, please call 8338324494 (Monday to Friday 9am-14:00pm) or email EmergencyBridgeGrant@commerce.fl.gov.