The City of Rochester is seeking grant applications for its Rochester Energy Benchmarking Program to provide emergency assistance to small local businesses in Rochester adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Donor Name: City of Rochester
State: Minnesota
City: Rochester City
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline (mm/dd/yyyy): 01/12/2022
Grant Size: $30,000
Details:
RBEEP will provide grants to small businesses or property owners participating in the Rochester Energy Benchmarking Program for up to 100% of the costs associated with installing an energy efficiency project. Grant funding will be based on organizational need and nature of the project.
Grant funds will help businesses pay for energy efficiency projects, including (but not limited to) energy audits, lighting, HVAC, refrigeration, heating, cooling, kitchens, etc. Grants must be used to cover costs paid to a third party, and cannot be used for normal operational expenses, including (but not limited to) rent/mortgage payments, advertising fees, utilities, payments to suppliers, payroll expenses, other expenses incurred in the regular course of business, or any tax obligations. Providing this support will increase the capacity of small businesses with a permanent physical presence in the city to rebound from the current crisis and will help mitigate potential future scenarios.
Funding information
A total of up to $30,000 is available for grant awards, with a priority given to historically underserved businesses (women-, military veteran-, and ethnic or racial minority-owned businesses).
Eligibility Criteria
To qualify, an applicant must:
- Be a private business (for-profit or) that has a permanent physical location within the city limits of Rochester, MN OR an operating 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization.
- Be either 1) a participant of the Rochester Building Energy Benchmarking Program or 2) sign up as a new participant and commit to participating for three years.
- Work with an RPU representative (or third party auditor if recommended) to identify energy solutions in accordance with Rochester Public Utilities’ Partnering in Energy Solutions (PiES) program
- Be in operation with all required filings with the Minnesota Secretary of State before July 1st, 2021.
- Be majority-owned by a permanent resident of Minnesota.
- Have been impacted by Minnesota Governor’s Executive Orders issued in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
- Be in good standing with the Minnesota Secretary of State with no outstanding liens at the time of application.
- Be in compliance with all State of Minnesota Executive Orders at the time of application.
- Employ fewer than five hundred (500) full-time equivalent (FTE) employees.
- Document how the funds helped prevent, prepare for or respond to coronavirus.
Priority Considerations:
- Businesses those are majority-owned by military veterans, women, and ethnic or racial minorities.
- Nonprofits or organizations that serve military veterans, women, people experiencing homelessness, seniors, LGBTQ+, and ethnic or racial minorities.
For more information, visit RBEEP Grant.