Join us to learn more about the $25 Million in grant funds currently available through the Maine Technology Institute (MTI) for Pandemic Relief

The Maine Technology Institute is currently administering PRIME Phase I representing $25M in grant funds to eligible small businesses. PRIME Fund applications are due May 24th.

At this information session representatives from MTI will share more information about the PRIME funds, who is eligible, and how to apply.

Additional Information

Grant funds must be used to address negative economic impacts of the pandemic, and businesses must demonstrate a plan to use the funds to will help increase revenues or create or preserve quality jobs.

Applications are due at midnight on May 24th, and awards are expected to be announced by the end of June.

There is a lot of information including FAQ’s, eligibility, potential award amounts, and so much more on MTI’s site. Information is also available in Spanish, French, Portuguese, Arabic, Somali and Vietnamese on the same site.

You can watch a recorded 30 minute information session here.

You can see a sample application here.

See here for estimated award amounts and ranges. You can apply for more money than your company size indicates, though MTI has provided these ranges to give businesses a sense of what an award might be.

Who is eligible to apply?

1. Your business must have been operational by 10.1.21
2. You must have a connection to the State of Maine’s targeted seven technology sectors.

REALLY IMPORTANT NOTE:
MTI has a clear goal to be more inclusive with the PRIME fund in how they are viewing a business’s connection to the seven sectors, and are asking applicants to make a case for how their business and/or their pandemic response plan are connected to one or more of these technology sectors. In recent webinars, examples have included an axe manufacturer connected to Precision Manufacturing, and a restaurant connected to Information Technology – the key is the proposed use of PRIME funds: your pandemic response plan must leverage technology to significantly enhance your business. For example, a restaurant could propose to use PRIME funds to develop an online ordering system for their website. We encourage you to think creatively about how your business might fit into one of these seven categories, or to sign up for an information session and ask questions.

3. You must be able to provide 1:1 match for the funds in either in-kind or cash contributions. a. For in-kind, businesses with 1 – 5 employees are allowed to use up to 85% in-kind match. This means that for a $49,000 award (estimated high end of award amount), you could use $41,650 in in-kind match, and would need $7,350 in cash match. In-kind match can include the owner’s time or salary. The last question here outlines more information about match.

What else?

You will need a Federal Unique Entity Identified (UEI) to apply. This process can take several days, and we suggest starting it ASAP. Here is a video about applying for an UEI, there’s also an FAQ with more information.

MTI estimates the application itself will take an hour to complete, though we suggest allowing more time to gather all the supporting documents you’ll need. More information about applying can be found here.

If you have questions about the PRIME fund, we strongly recommend attending an MTI, emailing MTI at ARPAGrants@Mainetechnology.org, or contacting us at the WBC.