B.C. Small and Medium Sized Business Recovery Grant Program

The $300 Million Small and Medium Sized Business Recovery Grant program will provide grants to B.C. businesses that employ between 2 and 149 B.C. residents and that have experienced declines in revenue since March 10, 2020.

The program will run until March 31, 2021 or until funds are fully deployed.

On this page:

• How it Works
• Eligibility
• How to Apply
• Businesses Helping Businesses: Expression of Interest
• Contact Us

How it Works

Small and medium-sized businesses are vital to British Columbia’s economy. Ensuring they have the support they need through and beyond COVID-19 is critical to B.C.’s economic future.

The B.C. Small and Medium Sized Business Recovery Grant program will invest up to $300 million in targeted financial support for some of the hardest hit businesses in B.C. Grants of $10,000 to $30,000 are available and an additional $10,000 will be available to eligible tourism-related businesses that have been hit especially hard by COVID-19.

The Recovery Grant is a five-step process:

1. Businesses apply for funding and provide information to demonstrate that they meet the eligibility criteria.
   
   
2. A business that meets the eligibility criteria will be matched with a professional services provider who will help develop a recovery plan or assess the business’s current one (a value up to $2,000 in professional services, in addition to the grant amount).
   
   
3. Once a recovery plan is developed, submitted and approved, funding will be provided to the business applicant to implement the actions outlined in the recovery plan.
   
   
4. Successful applicants must provide regular updates accounting for the spending and status of their recovery efforts that have been supported by grant funding.
   
5. All businesses agree to participate in a third-party audit at the end of the grant program.
   
   

Eligibility

Businesses must meet all the general eligibility criteria as follows:

• The majority share of the business is owned by one or more B.C. residents;
• The business’s sole or primary operations are located in B.C.
• The business:
  • Is currently operating;
  • Is registered in B.C.;

• Has been operating in B.C. for at least three years prior to March 10, 2020;
• Pays taxes in B.C.;
  • Employs between 2 and 149 people in B.C. for at least four months of the calendar year;
  • Had positive cash flow for the last financial statement prior to COVID-19;
  • Experienced revenue loss of at least 70% during March and April 2020;

• Continue to earn 50% or less of pre-COVID revenue levels;
• Maintains a:
  • Payroll account number with the Canada Revenue Agency;
  • Goods and Services Tax number with the Canada Revenue Agency;
  • WorkSafeBC registration number;
  • Provincial Sales Tax number and a Municipal and Regional District Tax number with the B.C. Ministry of Finance (where applicable); and
  • Business licence and all other operating licences as required;

• Has accessed or applied to access federal supports for which their business is eligible including the Canada Emergency Business Account and Regional Relief and Recovery Fund and Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance program where applicable;
• Must disclose all provincial or federal funding they have received since March 10, 2020 to support COVID-19 response, restart or recovery efforts; and,
• The owner(s) have not prepared the business for closure or dissolution (i.e. announced a permanent closure to their customers, held a closing-out sale, listed their business for sale or given notice to their employees) following March 10, 2020.

Eligibility Criteria for Additional Tourism Grant

Tourism-related businesses may qualify to receive up to an additional $10,000 grant if:

• The business must meet all the general eligibility criteria as listed above.
• The business must be able to demonstrate that at least 75% of their total demand and revenue comes from visitors to British Columbia who are traveling for the purposes of leisure travel.
• The business must be part of the tourism sector, which for the purposes of this program is defined as businesses providing transportation, accommodation, food and beverage services, recreation and entertainment and travel services.

How to Apply

Interested businesses that meet the above criteria must fill out an online application at BC Business Recovery Grant. Before applying, review the eligibility criteria for required information and be sure you have the following documents available to attach to your application.

• Payroll documents from the last 12 months;
• Current year balance sheet plus two years of financial statements;
• Actual monthly revenue for the past 24 months; and
• Business tax returns from the last three years, specifically:
  • Either the Notice of Assessment, OR
  • For unincorporated businesses, the first section of the owner’s tax returns (Form 5010-R); for incorporated businesses, the first section of the T2 return, not including the schedules

Businesses Helping Businesses: Expression of Interest

The B.C. Small and Medium Sized Business Recovery Grant Program is seeking interested parties such as accountants, financial planners, bookkeepers and lawyers to assess the solvency of businesses and help develop recovery plans. Our delivery partner, Small Business BC matches the business to the service provider who invoices SBBC for reimbursement for services, up to a maximum of $2,000 (including taxes) per applicant.

If you are one of the listed professions listed above and would like to lend your skills, knowledge and expertise please review the Expression of Interest.

Contact Us

The B.C. Recovery Grant Team are available: Monday-Friday: 9:00am-5:00pm. For more information contact us at BusinessRecoveryGrantProgram@gov.bc.ca or by phone at 1-833-254-4357.