The New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) has just launched Phase 4 of the Grant Program which will provide grants up to $20,000 to New Jersey businesses and nonprofits with 50 or fewer full-time equivalent employees (FTEs), including sole proprietorships and home-based businesses.

In order to apply, you must pre-register between Monday, April 19, 2021 at 9:00 a.m. and Thursday, April 29, 2021 at 5:00 p.m. here.

If you do not have a NJEDA account, you need to first register for an account (by clicking on sign-in and then register), and then sign into your account and pre-register for this grant. Pre-registration is NOT first come, first served, but businesses are encouraged to begin the process as early as possible. ‍

A video walk-through of the pre-registration process is available here. You can also call 844-965-1125 for assistance with the pre-registration process.

Applicants that applied for funding during earlier phases of the program may be eligible for funding in Phase 4, whether they received funding, or were declined or waitlisted.

Applications

Following pre-registration, applications will become available on a rolling basis. Pre-registered applicants will need to return to programs.njeda.com to complete an application based on the following schedule:

• Businesses that did not apply for, or were not approved for Phase 3 funding – 9:00 a.m. on May 3, 2021. Check here to see if your businesses was approved for a grant during phase 3 (Businesses are sorted by County – last column on the right)
• Restaurants and child care providers – 9:00 a.m. on May 5, 2021
• Micro businesses (five or fewer FTEs) – 9:00 a.m. on May 10, 2021
• All other small businesses – 9:00 a.m. on May 12, 2021

Applications for each category will be open for a period of one week and will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis, based upon the date and time the Authority receives a completed application submission.

Your business is eligible for a Phase 4 grant if:

• Business has been in existence and operational on February 15, 2020
• Be fully and properly registered to do business with New Jersey Department of Treasury, Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services as evidenced by a valid Business registration Certificate. Entities can verify their registrations here. To help business owners ensure they are properly registered, the NJEDA is hosting a Phase 4 Document Preparation Sessions with the NJ Department of Treasury on Monday, April 19, 2021 at 5:00p.m. This session will cover what it means to be “properly registered” with the State, how business owners can check their registration status, and what to do if a business is not properly registered. Session can be accessed here. When asked to enter a password, type: GRANT
• Be in good standing with the Department of Labor and Workforce Development (NJLWD).
• Have no more than 50 Full-Time Equivalent Employees (FTE) in the businesses’ Q3 2020 or Q4 2020 WR-30 filing (the most recently filed of the two will be used). The NJEDA’s definition of a FTE is detailed in the following question. –
• Have a physical location in the State of New Jersey (e.g., an office, a physical point of sales, a warehouse, manufacturing facility, etc.). Home-based businesses must be located in New Jersey
• Certify to NJEDA its intention to make best efforts not to furlough or lay off any workers from the time of application through six months after the end of the declared state of emergency. If the business has already furloughed or laid off workers from the time of application, make a best-effort pledge to re-hire the furloughed or laid off workers as soon as possible.
• Certify to NJEDA that the entity has been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 declared state of emergency (e.g., has been temporarily shut down, has been required to reduce hours, has had at least a 20% drop in revenue, has been materially impacted by employees who cannot work due to the outbreak, or has a supply chain that has materially been disrupted and therefore slowed firm-level production)
•  Certify to NJEDA that the entity has a material financial need as a result of COVID-19 that cannot be overcome without the grant (e.g., does not have significant cash reserves that can support the SME during this period of economic disruption). Not be actively excluded or debarred by the State of New Jersey or the Federal Government

Access the full FAQ document here