Small And Medium Enterprise Relaunch Grant

UPDATE November 23, 2020

The qualification threshold has been reduced from a 50% loss in revenue down to 40%, and a second round of funding has been announced (details yet to be released).

With this grant, Alberta businesses, cooperatives, and non-profit organizations that were ordered to close or curtail operations as a result of public health orders, and that experienced a revenue reduction of at least 40% in April and/or May 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, can apply for 15% of their pre-COVID-19 revenue, up to a maximum of $5,000.

Who is eligible for this grant?

To be eligible, you must be an Alberta business, cooperative, or non-profit organization and meet all of the following criteria

1. Be one of the following legal entities:

- Corporation registered under the Business Corporations Act (Alberta)
- Partnership registered under the Partnership Act (Alberta)
- Sole proprietor with a trade name registered under the Partnership Act (Alberta)
- Corporation incorporated under a special act or a private act of the Alberta legislature
- Non-profit registered under a special act or a private act of the Alberta legislature
- Non-profit registered under part 9 of the Companies Act (Alberta)
- Society registered under the Societies Act (Alberta) or the Agricultural Societies Act (Alberta)
- Cooperative registered under the Cooperatives Act (Alberta)

2. Maintain a permanent establishment (as defined in Appendix I) in Alberta and be established (and in good standing) under at least one of the above acts/legislation.

3. Be carrying on business/operations or were eligible to carrying on business/operations in Alberta on February 29, 2020.

4. Have less than 500 employees (full time + part time + contract).

• Seasonal businesses may use the number of employees from the year prior to when the COVID-19 public health orders were introduced, or the average number of employees over the three years prior to the COVID-19 public health orders introduced.

5. Have been ordered to temporarily close or curtail operations through a COVID-19 public health order.

• For more information on the COVID-19 public health orders and legislation, please click HERE

6. Have experienced a reduction in revenue of at least 40% in April and/or May 2020 in comparison to April 2019, May 2019, or February 2020 as a result of the public health orders.

• Seasonal businesses that only operate for part of the year may use their average monthly sales revenue for the full months they were in operation during 2019.

7. Are open or plan to reopen as public health orders are lifted through Alberta’s phased relaunch.

8. Have not received any payments, grants, or amounts from any other sources, including insurance, to replace or compensate for the loss of revenue/earned revenue, with the exception of these government assistance programs:
- Alberta Workers’ Compensation Board premium relief
- Business Credit Availability Program (BCAP)
- Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA)
- Western Economic Development Regional Relief and Recovery Fund
- Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS)
- Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA)
- Government of Alberta grant relief funding for the child care sector

Organizations with multiple Alberta permanent physical establishments that have seen revenue reduction are eligible to apply for funding for each establishment. This includes scenarios where an organization has more than one location/chapter/branch that has seen revenue reduction of at least 50 per cent due to COVID-19 public health orders.

Who is not eligible?

• Non-profit organizations that receive operational funding from government (i.e. education supports, health care) with the exception of agricultural societies.
• Non-profit organizations that receive funding from:
  - Canada Emergency Support Fund
  - Canada Emergency Support Fund for Cultural, Heritage and Sport Organizations
  - Canada Emergency support for women’s shelters and sexual assault centres
  - Alberta Emergency Funding for Charities, Nonprofits and Food Banks
  (administered by FCSS)
  - Alberta Mental Health and Addiction COVID-19 Community Funding grant
  - Alberta Emergency Funding for Women and Homeless Shelters
• Other ineligible entities include municipalities and overnight camps. 

How do I calculate my reduction in revenue?

- Applicants will be required to demonstrate a revenue reduction of at least 40% in April and/or May 2020 as a result of public health orders.
- Grant funding will be provided for 15% of the organization’s pre-COVID monthly revenue in either April 2019, May 2019, or February 2020 up to a maximum amount payable of $5,000 per eligible business, cooperative or non-profit organization.
- Seasonal businesses that only operate for part of the year may use their average monthly sales revenue for the full months they were in operation during 2019.
- To maximize their payment, organizations may select the most appropriate period above for calculating their revenue reduction.
- Non-profits should provide earned revenue amounts (not grant revenue).*
- Businesses (including seasonal businesses) and cooperatives should provide sales revenue amounts for this calculation.*

For more information on the revenue definitions, click HERE

REVENUE REDUCTION CALCULATION

A = Pre COVID-19 revenue for April 2019, May 2019, February 2020, or average monthly revenue for seasonal businesses
B = Monthly revenue for April 2020 OR May 2020

A - B ÷ A x 100 = % Revenue Reduction OR 1 - (B ÷ A) x 100= % Revenue Reduction 

If the percentage of revenue reduction is below 40%, the application will be deemed ineligible

PAYMENT CALCULATION

A = Pre COVID-19 revenue for April 2019, May 2019, February 2020, or average monthly revenue for seasonal businesses

A x 0.15 = Total Payment (to a maximum of $5,000)

How do I apply?

• Confirm your Regional Application Location HERE
• Refer to the Application Companion Guide HERE
• Access the Online Application Portal HERE

More Information

For more information on how the program defines the eligibility criteria, please refer to The Government Of Alberta official program guidelines HERE

Questions?

For a complete list of our COVID-19 resources for individuals and businesses, please visit availcpa.com/resources or complete the contact form below.