Grow New York's Enterprise Program
Helping Agri-Businesses Grow in New York State
The Grow NY Enterprise Program is a joint Governor's initiative
of the Governor's Office for Small Cities (GOSC), Empire State Development
Corporation (ESDC) and the Department of Agriculture and Markets
(NYSDAM), which dedicates $3 million annually to increasing the
demand for and expanding the use of New York's agriculture and forest
products. The primary objective of the program is to provide funds
to local governments who in turn use the dollars to assist qualifying
businesses who undertake activities resulting in the creation of
job opportunities for low- and moderate-income persons.
ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS
Generally, cities, towns and villages under 50,000 people and counties
with an un-incorporated area population of under 200,000 people
are eligible to participate in this program. For complete list of
eligible communities, please visit www.nysmallcities.com.
ELIGIBLE BUSINESSES
Emerging or expanding businesses that are focused on producing,
processing, marketing or expanding New York produced agricultural
products are eligible.
ELIGIBLE USES OF FUNDS
Businesses may use the money to fund a portion of a project they
wish to undertake. Financing of machinery and equipment, building
construction, working capital or real property acquisition are all
eligible uses. Business development and marketing assistance is
available along with financing for project development costs.
FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE
Under the Grow NY Enterprise Program, funds are provided to
eligible communities for the following purposes:
- To make loans for production agriculture and agribusiness development
and expansion for an identified eligible activity which will result
in the creation of permanent private sector job opportunities,
principally for low-and moderate-income persons; or
- To construct publicly owned facilities or infrastructure which
are necessary to accommodate production agriculture and agribusiness
development and expansion that will result in the creation of
permanent private sector job opportunities, principally for low-and
moderate-income persons.
The proposed project will be reviewed to ensure that:
- Grow New York funds are needed to make the project feasible;
- Project costs are reasonable;
- All other sources of funds are committed;
- Grow New York Enterprise funds are not being substituted for
non-federal funds; and
- The project is feasible and that the business owner is receiving
a reasonable return on equity investment.
The State has set a general maximum funding limit of $750,000 per
community with a $100,000 application minimum for projects. Projects
are generally expected to result in the creation of at least one
full-time equivalent job per $7,500 of funds provided.
PROJECT REQUIREMENTS & LIMITATIONS
Fifty-one percent of the jobs that are created as a result of the
project must be either held by or made available to persons of low-
and moderate-income households. A low- or moderate-income household
is determined by number of people in the household corresponding
to the household's income which is then compared to federal income
limits.
A job is determined to be available to a low- or moderate-income
person if special skills that can only be acquired with substantial
training or work experience or education beyond high school are
not a prerequisite to fill such jobs, or the business agrees to
hire unqualified persons and provide training.
The following factors will be considered by the GOSC in selecting
applications for funding:
- The number of employment positions created;
- The quality of the employment positions as measured by such
factors as payroll, benefits, and skills training;
- The extent of project feasibility as measured by a reasonable
likelihood of the project being completely implemented in a timely
manner and of producing substantial public benefit;
- The extent of community benefit as measured by such factors
as property and sales tax benefits, local purchases of raw materials
and inventories, local impact of increased payrolls, local housing
market impact, and construction and other local contracting opportunities;
and
- The extent to which the project positively impacts local, State,
or Federal priorities.
SUMMARY OF THE PROJECT APPLICATION PROCESS
Preliminary Evaluation Process: Involves an interview between
Department of Agriculture and Markets, GOSC, the applicant community
and the business. The objective of the preliminary evaluation process
is to work with all involved parties prior to the formal application
submission to determine eligibility, readiness of the project, feasibility,
public benefit, and the overall appropriateness of funding. Communities
with projects selected for further processing will be invited to
submit a formal application for funding.
Application Process: An invitation to apply for funding
will include an application package with instructions and the identification
of any specific issues to be addressed in the application submission.
No application will be accepted which has not been formally invited
for submission. The application process will allow for communication
between the applicant and GOSC staff and the submission of additional
information throughout the review process. Prior to submission of
its application, the community must provide for and encourage citizen
input regarding the project, including holding a minimum of two
public hearings. The applicant community must also have local legislative
authorization for submission of the application.
 FOR
MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
NYS Dept. of Agriculture & Markets
10B Airline Drive
Albany, NY 12235
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