Women’s Business Development Council relaunches Equity Match Grant Program

The Women’s Business Development Council (WBDC) has relaunched its Equity Match Grant Program, which provides women-owned businesses across the Connecticut with grants of between $2,500 and $10,000. This is the sixth round of grants since the first round was allocated in 2020.

“We are so pleased to once again extend the opportunity for our state’s women-owned businesses to benefit from a WBDC Equity Match Grant,” said WBDC Founder and CEO Fran Pastore in a press statement announcing the new grants. “In addition to the wonderful stories we hear about how these grants are boosting small businesses, the data is also showing significant impacts on business outcomes.”

Previous rounds of the grant funding have given over $1.5 million to more than 160 different businesses, including many that are minority owned or situated in economically distressed communities. The application process for the new grant funding round opened on Jan. 17 and will run through Feb. 28.

Applicants are expected to lay out a plan for the funds which will improve their business, though the money cannot be used to cover operating costs, real estate improvement expenses, or to pay off previously acquired debt. Applicants must also be able to provide a minimum 25% match for the grant.

According to the program’s eligibility requirements, the business must be 51% or more female-owned, must have been established for at least two years before the application deadline, must be headquartered and registered in the state and owned by a Connecticut resident who is at least 18 years old, must be in good standing with the Connecticut Department of Revenue Services and the Internal Revenue Service, must have an established business checking account along with a formal digital bookkeeping/financial system plus a record of annual sales/revenue in last 12 months that is greater than $25,000 and must be a for-profit business or a self-supporting social enterprise.

WBDC added that nonprofits relying on donations are not eligible for consideration. Other businesses that are not eligible for grant funds include medical marijuana dispensaries, liquor stores and alcohol distributors, vape retailers and tobacco shops, gambling-related businesses, collections agencies and bail bonds agencies.

Partial funding for the grants comes from nearly 40 donors, including more than a dozen banks from across the state including Fairfield County Bank, First County Bank, First Bank of Greenwich, and the Savings Bank of Danbury. Additional funds came from partnerships with state, local, and federal government agencies as well as private and corporate donors. The grants were also supported by a large $9.8 million grant from the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development, with the funds to be delivered over the next five years.

The impact of the grants on recipients has proven substantial. According to the WBDC, out of fifth round recipients 80% saw increased revenues, 62% increased their profits, and half of the funds hired new employees. Sixty-seven of those companies that earned grants in the first four rounds have added new employees, resulting in 138 new jobs.

“I doubled my business last year thanks to the help from the WBDC,” said Nichelle Waddell, owner of Watch Me Group Daycare in Stamford and a previous grant recipient in testimony provided by WBDC. “I would not be able to do these things without the help, teaching and guidance that I have received from WBDC.”

Waddell added that she was able to open a second location in Norwalk in 2022 thanks to a pair of grants from the WBDC. She used them to repair environmental systems at her business and outfit the second location.

Interested parties can register to attend information sessions scheduled Feb. 9, 15 and 21, with a Spanish-language session on Feb. 16. Application materials and information can be accessed at https://ctwbdc.org/equity-match-grant-program/.

Phil Hall contributed to this article.