What is the JobsOhio
Small Business Grant?
The program provides grants of up to $50,000
to support the growth of small businesses
that face unique challenges because they
are either located in a qualifying zip codeor are owned by an eligible population,
which includes minorities, women, veterans,
and people with disabilities. To qualify, thecompany must have an eligible project andmeet business size and industry requirements.

What businesses are eligible?
● To qualify, businesses must be registered as afor-profit entity in the State of Ohio and in goodstanding with the Ohio Department of Taxation.
● The business must meet at least one of thefollowing two requirements:» Must be at least 51% minority-owned,woman-owned, veteran-owned or owned byan individual with a disability.
» AND/OR, the business is located in an
eligible zip code. Visit our website tocheck eligible zip codes.
● Eligible businesses must have a portion of theirsales and revenue generated by selling products,services, or software to other businesses; abusiness-to-business (B2B) company. The
business may also sell direct to consumers,
however the grant must support expansion
or growth of the B2B side of the company.
Investments in retail operations are not eligible,
however some back-office distribution ore-commerce businesses may qualify.
● The business must be in operation for at least
one year with revenue between $100,000 and$25 million.
● The company must be making a new investment
in an eligible cost (listed in the next section) andwilling to commit to at least 10% job and/or
payroll growth over a three-year period.

JobsOhio Small Business Grant

What kind of investments
can the grant support?
Eligible costs● Site and building improvements, including
construction, expansion or renovation
The grant can only cover white box build-out
such as HVAC, roof & walls, windows, electrical,
plumbing, etc. Tenant improvements aregenerally not eligible.
● Demolition and site preparation costs● Purchases of machinery and equipment,including some rollings stock such as forklifts
and related equipment.
● Onsite infrastructure such as utility upgrades orrail improvements
Parking lots are not eligible.
● Information technology needs, including
hardware components (servers) or industry
specific software● Some qualified training costs, typically related
to industry process or software, maintenanceor skilled trades, or quality management

What are the company
commitments to receive
the grant?
The goal of the grant program is to help small
businesses grow in Ohio. To ensure results areachieved, companies are required to reportannually for three years following the grantaward on their “metric commitments,” which
includes reporting on jobs, total payroll andnew investment in the project. The company
annual reports are confidential and not sharedwith the public. The project, including job andinvestment commitments, are discussed andagreed upon before the grant is awarded.

JobsOhio Small Business Grant

How do I apply?
STEP 1
Determining Eligibility.

If you think you might be eligible, contact yourJobsOhio Regional Network Partner to discuss
your project.

STEP 2Agree on metric commitments.

If your project meets the eligibility
requirements, your JobsOhio Network Partner
will ask you to complete an Intake form tocollect additional information about yourproject. They will also discuss job and payrollcommitments that will be included in the grantagreement, so it’s important to be realistic inyour projections.

STEP 3
Receive a formal offer letterfrom JobsOhio.

Once all information is provided, JobsOhio will
either issue an offer letter outlining the termsof the grant or will follow-up if an offer
cannot be provided. Grant decisions arebased on several project factors, including
but not limited to company location, company
ownership, jobs created and/or retained,
project investment, type of business, anddemonstrated need for funding in order forthe project to move forward.

STEP 4
Accept the grant.

Once an offer letter is received by thecompany, the recipient must email to accept
the terms of the grant offer.

STEP 5
Review and submit the full application.

You will receive a link to review and complete
the application, which is pre-populated with
the information already provided. You will
also be asked to provide historical financial
statements (tax returns are acceptable ifannual financial statements are not available),a copy of your IRS Form W9, and an electronic
signature on the document to verify theinformation being provided is correct.

STEP 6
Review and sign grant agreement.

JobsOhio will generate a grant agreement
based on the information provided in theapplication. You will be emailed a copy forreview, and if there are no changes, confirm
with the JobsOhio team and the agreement will
be sent to you electronically for signature.

JobsOhio Small Business Grant

When and how do I receive the grant funding?
The process to get to an offer letter and subsequent grant agreement can move as fast as a few
weeks, depending on how quickly project information can be provided by the business. However,there are three important considerations impacting when the business can start the project and whengrant funds are received. They include:
1. Reimbursement grants
JobsOhio grants are funded on a reimbursement basis, which means the company must incurand pay vendor invoices first, then submit documentation to JobsOhio for reimbursement.
Once an agreement is executed (signed), companies are eligible to submit for reimbursement
after completion of an onboarding call with the JobsOhio Project Performance Team. The
program allows for up to three reimbursment requests. The reimbursement process could take aminimum of 6-8 weeks before the grant funds are disbursed. Processing time could be longer if
documentation is not submitted correctly the first time and follow up is required.
Timing of expenses
2. JobsOhio can only reimburse for expenses incurred after the application has been signed andsubmitted to JobsOhio, which is outlined in Step 5 above. Therefore, the company should holdon making investments in the project until after the formal application is submitted.
Incurring costs
3. JobsOhio can only reimburse the company listed as the grantee in the executed grantagreement. If costs are incurred by another entity other than the grantee in the executed grant
agreement, this could delay the reimbursement process as an amendment will need executed
prior to any funds being disbursed.

QuestionsContact your JobsOhio network partner for questions.
REDI Cincinnati
cclymer@redicincinnati.com
513-562-8474

Ohio Southeast
katy@ohiose.com
937-763-6758

Dayton Development Coalition
jgord@daytonregion.com
937-222-4422

Regional Growth Partnershipeikenbary@rgp.org
419-252-2700

One Columbus
jph@columbusregion.com
614-225-6063

Team Neomarketing@teamneo.org
216-363-5400

Lake to Rivermarketing@laketoriverohio.org
330-866-8973
Updated August, 2024