NMFA Grant Program Information
All, NMFA has started providing information on the Small Business Grant program. The application process will have three rounds with the first round opening around noon on Monday, December 7. As mentioned below, there are a number of webinar opportunities between now and the opening of the grant process (the same information will be presented at each webinar).
Please keep referring to the NMFA site as they will be updating with new information as it becomes available. There is already a great deal of information to help you get your documentation ready to file when the application process opens. The site currently contains information on:
Eligibility:
Small Business CARES Relief Grants are available to New Mexico for-profit businesses and nonprofit organizations with 100 or fewer employees that meet one of the following requirements:
1. Sole proprietorship owned by a New Mexico resident, or
2. Corporations, partnerships, joint ventures, limited liability companies or limited partnerships that are at least 51% owned by one or more New Mexico residents, or
3. Nonprofit corporation designated as a 501(c)(3), 501(C)(6) or 501(c)(8) entity, or a 501(c) organization that serves past or present members of the Armed Forces of the United States.
Process for Funding Applications:
Are the grants given out first-come, first-served?
The applications will be funded in three rounds so that businesses that apply later in the application period still have a chance to obtain funding. The funding rounds and amounts set aside for funding are as follows:
Round 1: Applications submitted by noon on December 10: $40,000,000
Round 2: All applications submitted by noon on December 15 and those unawarded applications from Round 1: $35,000,000
Round 3: All applications submitted by noon on December 18 and those unawarded applications from Rounds 1 and 2: $25,000,000 plus any allocated funds that were not used in earlier rounds.
Applicants should apply only once. If an application is not funded in the round in which it was submitted, the application will roll into the next round and will be considered again.
Application Deadline:
The application will open the week of December 7 until noon on December 18. The application will close at noon on Friday, December 18. Please note that this is only 11 days. We encourage you to apply as early as possible. Businesses should only submit one application.
Required Documents (be sure to take a look at the required documents in advance, because the application has to be filed all at once - there is not an option to save the application and add documents later):
• 2019 business federal tax return;
• A quarterly employment wage report submitted to the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions for any quarter ended March 31, 2019 or later. If no report is provided, applicant will be considered a non-employer business;
• applicant’s NAICS Code;
• bank account information including a copy of cancelled or voided check; and
• copy of the driver’s license or government-issued identification card for the authorized officer and all New Mexico resident owners that make up at least 51% of the business. NMFA may request additional information to verify residency, number of employees, measurement of severe economic impact, or anything else needed to evaluate the application.
Applications that do not have the required documents are considered incomplete. Incomplete applications will be considered the lowest priority and may result in decline. NMFA staff will inform applicants through email regarding missing attachments. Applicants should watch their inbox, junk folder and spam filters for email from @nmfa.net and @formstack.com.
Funding Prioritization:
To ensure that grants have been distributed throughout the State, 40% of the funds have been set aside for businesses in rural areas. Businesses in the Hospitality and Leisure industries will be been given priority to the funding as directed by the legislation.
If there are more applications then available funding, NMFA will prioritize the applications based on each business’s profit or loss per employee and will fund the applications in the order prioritized.
Definition of New Mexico Resident:
“New Mexico Resident” means an individual who has certified that the individual is domiciled in this state during any part of the year or that the individual was physically present in this state for at least 185 days during the taxable year, as evidenced by a valid New Mexico State Driver’s License or government-issued identification card.
Grant Amounts:
Businesses will be awarded grant amounts based upon the number of individuals they employ. The grant amounts are fixed amounts that are based on quarterly wage reports submitted to the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions. Businesses that do not pay unemployment taxes (non-employer businesses) and those that do not submit a copy of the quarterly wage report will be eligible for a grant of $2,000.
| Number of employees | Grant Amount |
| 0 | $2,000 |
| 1-5 | $10,000 |
| 6-15 | $15,000 |
| 16-25 | $25,000 |
| 26-40 | $30,000 |
| 41-60 | $40,000 |
| 61-75 | $45,000 |
| 76-100 | $50,000 |
I’ve had to reduce staff because of the Emergency Health Orders. How will this affect the amount of grant I receive?
Applicants are able to use pre-COVID employment levels for purposes of determining the grant amount. Applicants are able to submit any quarterly wage report from March 31, 2019 to date.
Use of Grant Funds:
The grant may be used for regular business expenses that cannot be paid without additional assistance due to revenue losses because of the pandemic. The grant may also be used for expenses incurred due to the pandemic, such as PPE or retrofitting a business to meet COVID-19 safety guidelines.
Many thanks to NMFA for putting this together on such a short time frame!
NMFA has also created an email specifically for this grant program:
CARES@nmfa.net
If you haven't already signed up to be notified directly when the application process opens, you can sign up here:
APPLICATION NOTIFICATION