The City of Atlantic City celebrated the success of its recent Small Business Micro-Grant Program with a special reception honoring the recipients. The event brought together city leaders and entrepreneurs whose businesses benefited from the program’s investment in the local economy. Through the initiative, the city awarded $900,000 in grant funding to 65 small businesses across all six Atlantic City wards, helping stabilize operations, retain jobs, and support growth.

 

Funded in part through federal relief provided by the American Rescue Plan Act, the Atlantic City Small Business Micro-Grant Program was designed to help small, for-profit businesses located within city limits recover from the economic challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Key metrics from the program demonstrate the meaningful impact on Atlantic City’s small business community. An estimated 200 jobs were retained, and an additional 75 jobs were created, with more than one-third of the money going to startups. For the purposes of the program, a startup is defined as a business newly formed or in operation for fewer than three years. The program also played a key role in strengthening commercial corridors in Atlantic City, with eleven Boardwalk businesses supported and eleven Atlantic Avenue businesses (four of them startups) receiving funding. In addition, the initiative supported a diverse range of local entrepreneurs. Three-quarters of the recipients are minority-owned, women-owned or veteran-owned businesses, and nearly half of the recipients are Black-owned businesses.

 

Each eligible business was able to receive grants of up to $15,000 to help address pandemic-related financial hardship and strengthen long-term resilience.