The Small and Medium Enterprise Relaunch Grant offers financial assistance to Alberta businesses, co-ops, and non-profit organizations that were ordered to close or curtail operations, and that experienced a revenue reduction of at least 50%, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Eligible organizations can apply for 15% of their pre-COVID-19 revenue, up to a maximum of $5,000 in funding.
Businesses, co-ops and non-profits can use these funds as they see fit to help offset a portion of their relaunch costs, such as implementing measures to minimize the risk of virus transmission, which could include:
- Physical barriers,
- Purchasing personal protective equipment and disinfecting supplies,
- Paying rent and employee wages,
- Replacing inventory and more.
Eligibility
Businesses, co-ops and non-profit organizations that were ordered to close or cease operations as a result of public health orders issued by AHS may be eligible. Applicants will be required to demonstrate a revenue reduction of at least 50% in April and/or May 2020 as a result of public health orders.
To be eligible, an Alberta business, cooperative or non-profit organization must meet all of the following criteria.
- Be one of the following legal entities:
- a corporation registered under the Business Corporations Act (Alberta),
- partnership registered under the Partnership Act (Alberta),
- a sole proprietor with a trade name registered under the Partnership Act (Alberta),
- a corporation incorporated under a special act or a private act of the Alberta legislature,
- non-profit registered under a special act or a private act of the Alberta legislature,
- non-profit registered under part 9 of the Companies Act (Alberta),
- society registered under the Societies Act (Alberta) or Agricultural Societies Act (Alberta), and a
- cooperative registered under the Cooperatives Act (Alberta).
- Maintain a permanent establishment (as defined in Appendix I of the Small and Medium Enterprise Relaunch Grant program guidelines) in Alberta and be established (and in good standing) under at least one of the above acts/legislation.
- Be carrying on business/operations or were eligible to carry on business/operations in Alberta on February 29, 2020.
- Have less than 500 employees (full time, part-time and contract combined):
- Seasonal businesses may use the number of employees from the year prior to when the COVID-19 public health orders were introduced, or the average number of employees over the 3 years prior to the COVID-19 public health orders introduced.
- Have been ordered to temporarily close or curtail operations through a COVID-19 public health order.
- Have experienced a reduction in revenue of at least 50% in April and/or May 2020 in comparison to April 2019, May 2019 or February 2020 as a result of the public health orders.
- Seasonal businesses that only operate for part of the year may use their average monthly sales revenue for the full months they were in operation during 2019.
- Are open or plan to reopen as public health orders are lifted through Alberta’s phased relaunch.
- Have not received any payments, grants or amounts from any other sources, including insurance, to replace or compensate for the loss of revenue/earned revenue other than amounts from these government assistance programs:
- Alberta Workers’ Compensation Board premium relief,
- Business Credit Availability Program (BCAP),
- Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA),
- Western Economic Development Regional Relief and Recovery Fund,
- Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS),
- Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA), and the
- Government of Alberta grant relief funding for the child care sector.
Organizations with multiple Alberta permanent physical establishments that have seen revenue reduction are eligible to apply for funding for each establishment. This includes scenarios where an organization has more than one location/chapter/branch that has seen revenue reduction of at least 50% due to COVID-19 public health orders. Applicants will be required to submit separate applications for each location/chapter/branch, and check the appropriate box in the application form.
Ineligible Organizations
Non-profit organizations that receive operational funding from government (such as, education supports and health care), except for agricultural societies, are ineligible.
Non-profit organizations that receive funding from the programs below are also ineligible:
- Canada Emergency Support Fund,
- Canada Emergency Support Fund for Cultural, Heritage and Sport Organizations,
- Canada Emergency support for women’s shelters and sexual assault centres,
- Alberta Emergency Funding for Charities, Nonprofits and Food Banks (administered by FCSS),
- Alberta Mental Health and Addiction COVID-19 Community Funding grant, and the
- Alberta Emergency Funding for Women and Homeless Shelters.
Other ineligible entities include municipalities and overnight camps.
How to Apply
To manage the expected volume of applications, for the first week of application intake (June 29 to July 3), a specific application day has been designated organizations depending on what region of the province their business, cooperative or non-profit is based in. From July 4 onwards, businesses, cooperatives and non-profits from all regions may apply at any time until application intake for the program closes.
Intake for the program will remain open until August 31 or for 4 weeks following the start of Phase 3 of Alberta’s Relaunch Strategy – whichever is later. An official date for intake closure will be posted on this page when Phase 3 of Alberta’s Relaunch Strategy is announced.
Application intake days by region. To identify which region you fall under, please refer to the Small and Medium Enterprise Relaunch Grant Regional Application Map (PDF, 443 KB).
Step 1. Read the guidelines
Small and Medium Enterprise Relaunch Grant program guidelines here.
Step 2. Create a user account and log into the online application portal
All applications must be submitted through the online application portal, and in order to access the portal, applicants must have a My Alberta Digital ID (MADI) user account with a secure login name and password. If you already have a MADI, please log in with your existing credentials.
Applicants that do not already have a MADI, visit the MADI webpage to set up an account.
Once the account has been created, applicants can use their new credentials to log in to the Online Application Portal.
Step 3. Complete and submit the online application package
Ensure you have the following critical pieces of information when submitting:
- Legal Business Name
- Corporate Access Number (CAN)
- Permanent Establishment Address
- Financial details of pre-COVID revenue and COVID-impacted revenue
- Social Insurance Number (for Sole Proprietors only)
- Banking Information
- Financial Information including Branch, Transit and Account Numbers
- Financial Institution Address
You will also be required to provide the following:
- a completed Application Form with basic information to establish eligibility,
- an affirmative Attestation(s), and
- agreement to comply with the program’s terms and conditions, including audit and compliance controls.
After you Apply
The program aims to process applications and issue payments within 10 business days following submission.
After you have submitted your application, your application will appear on the main page of the online application portal in “Submitted” status. Check the main page for further updates on the status of your application.
Approved applicants will receive funds via Electronic Fund Transfer directly into their bank account, so ensure the banking information provided at the time of application is accurate to avoid payment delays.
Audit and Compliance
All applications and corresponding grants are subject to a potential audit by the Government of Alberta, or their authorized representatives, upon reasonable notice to the recipient. Any audit process would encompass taking copies and extracts of the records and books of account maintained by the recipient in accordance with eligible criteria outlined in the “Eligibility criteria” section of the Small and Medium Enterprise Relaunch Grant program guidelines (linked previously).
If records or accounts are deemed inadequate to permit a determination of eligibility, repayment of the grant funding by the recipient will be required.