MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers today delivered the Democratic Radio Address on the Wisconsin Tomorrow Small Business Recovery Grant program which will award up to $420 million to small businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The grant program is funded by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 and has the potential to help approximately 84,000 Wisconsin small businesses.

Audio file of Radio Address

Hello Wisconsin, Governor Tony Evers here.

This past year has challenged our state and country in more ways than we ever could have imagined. And Wisconsin’s small businesses have had to stay flexible and innovative to adapt to the challenges brought on by this pandemic.

That’s why, when we received our CARES funds in 2020, we put it to work and helped nearly 53,000 small businesses and restaurants through our We’re All In Grants, and made significant investments to support our farmers and our tourism, entertainment, and lodging industries, too.

Now, President Biden’s American Rescue Plan comes at a critical time. Wisconsin continues to be a national leader in getting available shots in arms and we’re also working to make sure our state can bounce back and better than we were before this pandemic hit.

I announced in March that we are using $2.5 billion of the $3.2 billion the state will receive of American Rescue Plan funding to support our state’s economic recovery, with $600 million going to our small businesses.

And just a few weeks ago, I announced we will award up to $420 million to small businesses through our new Wisconsin Tomorrow Small Business Recovery Grants.

This new program will help as many as 84,000 small businesses with $5,000 grants so that they can get back on their feet.

At the end of the day, I wanted our small businesses to know that help is on the way.

And once we get these federal funds and guidance, we will get them out the door quickly to help small businesses restock shelves, catch up on bills, or rehire and retain workers.

Folks, I know we can’t afford to play politics with our economic recovery, and that’s why we’re going to work quickly to get support to folks who need it so that they can keep serving customers, workers, and our communities so that we can bounce back together.

Thank you.