Rusk County Economic Development Corporation

Wisconsin Main Street Bounceback Program

This new program helps provide one-time assistance to new and existing businesses opening a new location or expanding their existing footprint into additional previously vacant commercial space as of 1/1/21 and on or before 6/30/22. $10,000 grants will be awarded to eligible businesses to assist with costs associated with leases, mortgages, operational expenses and other business costs related to the newly opened location. The more businesses that fill these vacant spaces around the state, the stronger our economy will be. If you’re interested in applying, check out the Main Street Bounceback Grants Program detail page on WEDC.org. This is where businesses can learn more about the grant, and more importantly, connect with the regional organization administering the grant in their area by filling out the contact form. To get more acquainted with this program, here is a map listing the local contact who is handling grant applications for businesses in that region, and an informational overview sheet.

Another important resource is the Economic Well-Being section on WEDC.org, where businesses can learn about the importance of programs like the Main Street Bounceback Grant Program. Here, we outline our vision for a comprehensive approach to economic development focused on economic well-being for all Wisconsin residents.

Applicants for this program will need a letter to verify their occupancy or expanded footprint for eligibility.  Rusk County Development can provide a letter for you. To request a letter, please email info@inruskcounty.com to request one. To create this letter, we will need to have the following information:
-the name of the business
-the business mailing address
-the date the lease contract was entered
To see an example of the letter, click here (updated version). 

UPDATE:

The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) made a few changes to the contract to administer the program, providing some additional flexibility for businesses that may have signed a lease or purchase agreement prior to 2021, but the lease commences, or sales contract closes, on or after January 1, 2021. Prior to this change, any documents submitted would have had to been executed between 1/1/21 and 6/30/22. The new guidance states, “it is commercially responsible that leases or purchase agreements could be signed as early as 9/1/20 for occupancy or closing in 2021”. Also, the guidance had originally said that a business could not relocate under any circumstance to become eligible for this grant. The updated guidance states that a business can relocate if their other lease has expired and if they are expanding their existing footprint into additional previously vacant commercial space. They cannot break a current lease to become eligible for this opportunity.

As a requirement of the application process, businesses must submit an acknowledgement letter from an economic development organization, including but not limited to: regional economic development organization, local municipality, Chamber of Commerce, Business Improvement District, Main Street or Connect Community organization. Please note, the application and letter template have been revised and can be found on the website. Any applications submitted prior to today (8-13-21) will be processed as submitted – future applications will require the updated acknowledgement letter and application.