Downtown Rutland Partnership’s Grant Program

The Downtown Rutland Partnership is excited to offer grant opportunities for downtown businesses and property owners!

Our grants are accepted on a rolling basis and the availability of funds is dependent upon our fiscal year budget. If you would like to apply, please complete and submit the application below. Additional files may be uploaded directly into the application.

But first, here's what you need to know before applying for a grant with us:

To apply, the project for which you are seeking funding must fall into one of these three categories:

• An improvement project to the facade of your building.
  This might include such items as: signage, siding, painting, windows or an awning. This is open to both business owners and property owners who are improving their building to fill a vacancy.
  

• The startup of a new downtown business.
  Are you starting up a business and need funds for remodeling the space or purchasing equipment? Our grant may be able to help.
  
  Please note: If seeking funding for a new business you will need to have a completed business plan, a copy of your lease agreement and a clear budget of your expenses. If you need help creating those documents, the Small Business Development Center may be able to offer you assistance before you begin an application with us.
  

• A project that will allow you to grow or expand a current business.
  Are you physically expanding the size of your business? If so, this is the right category for you.

Just chose the category that best fits your project in the application below. Unfortunately, we are unable to accept applications that do not meet one of these three areas of focus.

We consider our grants to be supplemental funding, not comprehensive.

In most cases, the grants we award will range in amount from $250 - $2,000. And in most cases, that won't cover the entirety of your project. Approved grant awards function as reimbursements. We only issue grant checks after you provide proof of your expense. That means that you must first make the purchase or hire the service for which you are seeking funding before we provide any grant money.

What to expect after applying:

• You will receive a confirmation email that we have received your application.

• Our Executive Director will review your application for completeness.

• If everything looks good, it will be sent to the Partnership's Business Development Committee for consideration.

• If the committee has no questions and determines your application meets our criteria, it will be sent to our Board of Directors with a recommendation.

• Our Board of Directors will review and vote on a possible grant award at their monthly meeting. You will be notified of the Board's decision or possible request for additional information.

• If you are approved for a grant, you will have no more than four months to provide us with proof of your expense, as outlined in your application. Afterwards, we will issue the grant check to you.

• Our Executive Director will then be in touch to check in, take photos and see how your project went.

About the application:

This application form is responsive! As you go through the application and select certain answers, the questions will change and new ones may appear. What you see at first glance is not everything that we require.

Unfortunately, you cannot save an incomplete application after starting. For written response questions, we suggest writing out and saving your responses on your computer before copying them into the application.

If you have questions or difficulty completing the application, please contact Tiffany at tiffany@downtownrutland.com or by calling 802-773-9380. If you require assistance completing the application, Tiffany is happy to setup an appointment with you.