Post-COVID-19, many initiatives were launched by the governmental and philanthropic sectors to help rehabilitate specific neighborhoods in Boston that experienced increased business closing. The City of Boston’s Office of Economic Opportunity and Inclusion launched the SPACE Grants initiative for businesses looking to expand in areas of neighborhoods impacted by business closings. The application requested a series of documents, including support letters and the type of technical support needed. Although the application was lengthy, it helped business owners to reflect on their business.

You never know who will become your biggest cheerleader during good and bad times or look out for the best interests of your business. When the City of Boston released the application for the SPACE grant program, a former program participant contacted Julio through Facebook, suggesting that he consider applying for the grant to support the growth of his business. In addition, a few former coworkers in the nonprofit sector contacted him, too. Despite initial hesitancy due to the perceived complexity of the application process and time constraints, Julio submitted the RFP (request for proposal), an online short form. A few months later, he remembers seeing the actual online application, which triggered memories of the days he worked for the nonprofit sector and the time he had written grants. The application required us to receive support letters from the neighborhood business association where you hoped to open your business. Downtown was one of the locations that we considered, but we needed to learn more about the rental market. The only thing we knew was there was an increase in storefront vacancies. We worked closely with Downtown Boston BID representative Sean Webster to obtain a support letter for the grant application. Building a rapport with Sean has helped us understand the dynamic of Downtown Boston and the opportunities his organization provides to businesses like ours. Finally, we submitted our application, which proposed opening our flagship studio, which would house our 3D lab, a real plant bar, and a retail studio. We were proud of our efforts and the quality of our application and business concept. The rest was out of our hands.

After the application was submitted, the suspense became real. We received an email from the review panel asking for a phone interview to review the application. A few months later, we received a call from the City stating that we had been awarded the requested grant amount. This was super exciting news for us, especially for Julio. He became super emotional and pleasantly shocked. It was like winning the lottery. The timing was perfect! The funds will help us open our flagship studio. The incredible part of the grant is the technical support that we will receive: business plan analysis, attorney, and other technical support that will help in the planning process of our new studio and a successful opening. We are grateful to the city of Boston and their employees for all the support we have received and are excited to open a new attraction in the Downtown area.

Takeaways:

• Always apply for opportunities even if you think you will not be awarded.
• Call the grant manager with questions and to familiarize yourself with the application criteria. This will also help you build rapport for future projects or grants. Grant managers are super helpful individuals!
• Plan ahead of time when requesting support letters.
• Do not take it personally if rejected; we have often been denied grants.
• When writing, use your authentic voice and celebrate your extraordinary accomplishments as a small business and your contributions to the community.
• Look into the information shared by your network. They see the potential of your business.