CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY SMALL BUSINESS ARPA MARKETING GRANT AND ESG ASSESSMENT PROGRAM
Apply for a Small Business Marketing Grant
The County of Chautauqua Industrial Development Agency (CCIDA), Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce (CCCC), Small Business Development Center at Jamestown Community College, and Insyte Consulting have established a reimbursable grant program for businesses and not-for-profits throughout the County to assist them with upgrading their marketing presence.
​
Grants of up to $10,000 are being made available to all business sectors and not-for-profits of 50 employees or less for the marketing upgrades aspect of this program.
Eligibility
Small businesses or not-for-profits of 50 employees or less may apply for the Marketing program, and manufacturers with 500 employees or less may apply for the marketing grant as well as the ESG program.
​
Potential applicants must complete a short application. The link to the application is provided below.
​
Note: Funding approval is not a guarantee, so applicants are being cautioned to refrain from expending funding for either of these programs assuming they will be approved. In other words, eligible expenses are only those that occur after the applicant receives an approval letter from the CCIDA, SBDC, or Chamber of Commerce. Please also be informed that you will be contacted by a Chamber of Commerce representative (Marketing Program) or Insyte Consulting representative (ESG Assessment) to set up a time when they can meet with you.
Use of Funding
The following are eligible marketing expenses:
-
Branding (brand development strategy, brand book/style guide, logo design)
-
Copyright/Trademarking
-
Point of Sale and Point of Purchase printed or digital signage or displays
-
Signage-building and yard signs
-
Social Media (management and design tools, consulting)
-
Print ,TV, and social media advertising
-
Website (building, updating, search engine optimization, additional domain purchases)
-
Ecommerce (website build, platform fees, hosting, domain purchase)
-
Professional photography and videography
-
Software expenses for technology related to marketing (i.e. Adobe)
-
Printing and design for brochures, flyers, business cards
-
Other (as deemed appropriate by CCIDA/JCC SBDC/CCCC evaluation team)
Improve your company culture with an ESG assessment
Manufacturers with 500 employees or less have the opportunity to work with Insyte Consulting to improve their company culture, positioning them to retain and attract employees, by implementing Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) programs and initiatives. $5,000 worth of services is available for manufacturers who elect to consult directly with Insyte Consulting to have a thorough assessment conducted, thereby resulting in recommendations that address some of the easier-to-achieve ESG aspects.
Allocation Timeline
Due to overwhelming interest in the Chautauqua County Small Business ARPA Marketing Grant and ESG Assessment Program, application submissions are suspended. We will reopen the application if funding is still available after initial review of current submissions or if we are able to increase funding through other means.
About the Program
Chautauqua County received an award of $24,600,000 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding, of which $18,219,169 was available for general county spending based on the Treasury Department’s revenue loss formula and other guidance, and the remaining $6,380,831 in funding could only be spent on designated ARPA categories including premium pay; water, sewer, and broadband projects; and responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated economic impacts.
​
An ARPA Committee consisting of the County Executive, several legislators, and several department heads worked for many months to create an ARPA Spending Plan (Plan) consisting of priority projects to address the key strategic categories as defined by the Department of Treasury, to be sustainable, and to have a County-wide impact.
​
The Plan, consisting of the priority projects, was thoroughly reviewed by the ARPA Committee, the County Executive, and the County Legislature and was adopted pursuant to Resolution No. 202-21.
The “Marketing Assistance to Businesses and Not-for-Profits” project, which was identified as one of the priority projects recommended in Resolution 202-21, was approved by the legislature at its October 27, 2021 meeting.
​
The rationale for funding this new program was based on the premise that if businesses do better, the county benefits as a whole. The pandemic has presented unprecedented challenges, and local business owners have had to adapt to survive. This includes methods for them to communicate with customers in new and innovative ways. Evolving and expanding their marketing reach will increase foot traffic and boost sales.
PLEASE NOTE
​
Assuming you are approved for assistance provided through one of these programs (which will be in the form of an award letter), you will ultimately be required to provide proof of payment for both the marketing-related and ESG assessment services rendered, and the CCIDA will reimburse you up to $10,000 (Marketing Program) and $5,000 (ESG Assessment) directly.
​
All applicants must first meet with a Business Advisor at the Small Business Development Center at Jamestown Community College (SBDC at JCC) before being considered for the Marketing Assistance Program. If you have not yet consulted with a Business Advisor, please contact the SBDC at (716) 338-1024, sbdc@mail.sunyjcc.edu or fill out a brief Request for Advisement form.
​
