Come Back Up COVID-19 Relief Fund for Uptown Waterloo Businesses
The COVID-19 pandemic and resulting directions from Federal and Provincial governments forced the closure of non-essential businesses. With much uncertainty regarding reopening businesses and the future climate of business in general, the BIA has created a post COVID-19 funding program – similar to our Hand in Hand program.
How it Works:
Once ALL Uptown businesses are permitted to reopen, interested ones will be able to apply for “Come Back Up” funding (up to a total of $2,500) for items and initiatives such as:
- Costs associated to increased cleaning and sanitation procedures e.g. hand washing stations, hand sanitizer, PPE, cleaning supplies etc. related to Government and Public Health recommendations
- Costs associated with creating and managing online sales e.g. e-commerce platform – related to changes made because of the pandemic
- Marketing and advertising costs to promote/share changes made to their business because of the pandemic
- Capital expenditures related to air quality improvements or social distancing requirements
- Training for staff related to changes made to their business because of the pandemic
- Other expenditures related to changes made because of the pandemic as approved by the BIA
Of note: payroll, rent, utilities and other similar operational costs do not qualify for this program.
To apply, businesses will complete an online form and forward copies of paid invoices/receipts as evidence of the changes they’ve made to make their business more resilient after the pandemic. Once received, the BIA will review and release approved funding.