Facebook offering grants to small businesses ($100 million total)

A ton of small businesses are struggling around the country and around the globe. There have been some programs made available to small business owners like the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) but programs like that have quickly run out of funds (although a new round of funding is on the way).

Still, small business owners are looking for any type of aid that they can get in order to stay afloat during these rough times.

Fortunately, Facebook is stepping up and offering grants and also credits for advertising to many small businesses. In total, they will be offering $100 million in grants to up to 30,000 eligible businesses across 30 countries.

Here’s how you can apply.

First, make sure that they are currently offering the grants in your area. You can check to see if your area is available here. 

Here are all of the cities/areas that are currently available at the time of publishing this article:

• Altoona, IA Polk County Ashburn, VA / Loudoun County
• Atlanta, GA / Fulton County
• Austin, TX / Travis County
• Boston Area, MA
• Chicago, IL / Cook County
• Dallas, TX / Dallas County
• Denver, CO Detroit Area, MI
• Eagle Mountain, UT / Utah County
• Forest City, NC / Rutherford County
• Fort Worth, TX / Tarrant County
• Huntsville, AL / Madison County
• Los Angeles Metropolitan Area
• Los Lunas, NM / Valencia County
• Miami, FL / Miami-Dade County
• New Albany, OH / Franklin County
• New York Metropolitan Area
• Newton County Area, GA
• Northridge, CA Papillion, NE / Sarpy County
• Pittsburgh, PA / Allegheny County
• Prineville, OR / Crook County Redmond
• WA Richmond Area, VA / Henrico County
• San Francisco Bay Area
• Seattle, WA / King County Washington D.C.

Next, you need to make sure that your business qualifies.

Your business needs to be open for at least one year and should have between 2 and 50 employees. (Sorry Shake Shack this is not a program for you).

You’ll also need to gather the documents needed for the application. To complete your application, you’ll need at least one of the following documents:

• Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN)
• Partnership documents
• Business license
• Proof of incorporation
• Official registration

You will be asked to share your contact information, brief summary about your business, and how you would use the cash grant.

You need to show how your grant funds could help make an impact on your business or in your community. For example, you could use the grant to continue paying employees, or to provide critical services through pickup and delivery methods.

After the application to become available in your specific area, you will have two weeks to apply before the deadline. It will then take a few weeks for them to review your application and ask follow-up questions. 

This seems like a pretty easy grant to apply for it if you qualify so I would give it a shot. I’m sure a lot of businesses are going to be applying so it is likely going to be extremely competitive but given the time requirements to apply, you might as well give it a shot if you need it.