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. Applications will be accepted until December 31st, 2020 or until all funds have been distributed.