Policy Advocacy: American Rescue Plan Act Support for Local Businesses
A unique opportunity to support local businesses in a transformative way.
The COVID-19 pandemic has made a huge impact on locally-owned independent businesses in and around Cambridge. It quickly transformed the environment in which businesses operate while intensifying existing challenges.
Cities and states across the nation have received aid by way of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). Given this substantial infusion of funds, we have a unique opportunity to not only support independents and local businesses recover from the economic impact of the pandemic, but also to rebuild towards a future in which diverse local businesses are able to thrive. This page will be periodically updated with:
- Information about how ARPA funds will be used, including local and statewide grant opportunities for locally-owned, independent businesses.
- Our recommendations for initiatives, submitted through the city’s project submittal form.
CLF's broader advocacy efforts around ARPA include:
We are identifying priority areas for targeting funding and monitoring how funds have been allocated to support locally-owned, independent businesses.
We are researching best practices and submitting recommendations for funding that can best create a supportive and equitable environment for local businesses to succeed in.
We are actively advocating for the use of funds in ways that benefit local businesses and engaging with local policymakers to make it happen.
UPCOMING EVENTS AND DEADLINES
- New Applicant Program: for businesses that have not previously received support from MGCC grant programs.
- Inclusive Grant Program: for businesses with the target market of socially and economically disadvantaged and historically underrepresented groups.
Are you a local business or non-profit interested in submitting a project idea?
Have general questions for CLF, need support developing your idea, or just want a second set of eyes on the proposal you're planning to submit?
We can help. Just fill out the form below!
LEARN MORE ABOUT AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT (ARPA) FUNDS
ARPA funds have been allocated towards broader local and state-level programs as well as specific funding opportunities for local businesses.
ARPA funds may be used to cover eligible costs incurred during the period that begins on March 3, 2021 and ends on December 31, 2024, as long as the award funds for the obligations incurred by December 31, 2024 are expended by December 31, 2026. The City of Cambridge ARPA webpage lists the five priority areas funds can be allocated towards. The priority to “Address negative economic impacts caused by the public health emergency, including economic harms to workers, households, small businesses, impacted industries, and the public sector” is most relevant to our local businesses. Independent creatives and locally-owned, independent businesses could fit into other categories depending on the project.
Specific expenditure categories are listed in Table 1 (the most relevant categories are highlighted):
$88.1 million dollars in (a combination of federal and state) funding have been made available to the City of Cambridge.
American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) – Federal Award | $65,019,211 |
State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) State ARPA Award | $23,100,176 |
Total Funds Disbursed to the City of Cambridge | $88,119,387 |
ARPA Committed and Recommended Projects to Date – November 30, 2021: This document summarizes the City of Cambridge’s committed and recommended projects to date (as of 11/30/21), broken down by specific expenditure categories. Out of the approximately $88.1 million allocated to the City of Cambridge:
- $4,005,592.00 in funding has been committed.
- $23,757,300.00 in funding has been recommended, but not yet committed.
- This leaves a balance of $60,356,495.00 in funds that have not yet been committed or recommended for allocation (a little less than three-quarters of the original balance).
Here is an approximate breakdown of committed and recommended funds by area. About half of the funds committed and recommended so far have been allocated towards public health, followed by infrastructure, services to disproportionately impacted communities, negative economic impacts, revenue replacement, and administrative costs, respectively.
The city does not currently plan to allocate specific chunks of funds towards various categories. Cambridge Local First has noted that there is an opportunity to use funds to address negative economic impacts, including small business support efforts, and local economies-related work for disproportionately affected communities.
Category | Committed (dollars / percent of total committed) | Recommended (dollars / percent of total recommended) |
Public Health | $2.2 million / 55% | $12 million / 50% |
Negative Economic Impacts* | $300 thousand / 7.5% | $2 million / 8.4% |
Services to Disproportionately Impacted Communities | $600 thousand / 15% | $3.8 million / 16% |
Premium Pay | N/A | N/A |
Infrastructure | $500 thousand / 12.5% | $8.6 million / 36% |
Revenue Replacement | 0 | $1.9 million / 8% |
Administrative | $400 thousand / 1% | 0 |
*The number for Negative Economic Impacts does not include the $2.5 million allocated towards Nightlife Relief Grants.
Cambridge Local First will be providing updates through our website and email communications, as relevant. In addition, you can visit the City of Cambridge ARPA page, which includes an overview, informational documents, an FAQ section, and these informational documents:
- An Overview of the State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (SLFRF) – February 15, 2022
- Slides – City Council Finance Committee – December 1, 2021
- Slides – City Council Finance Committee, State and Local Fiscal Recovery Grant – July 27, 2021