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City of Madison

City resources for small businesses: Small Business Equity and Recovery program

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Window sash restoration
Image credit: Sash-A Restoration

As part of National Small Business Week, the City of Madison’s Economic Development Division is highlighting some of the programs and resources offered to local business owners through the Office of Business Resources.

The City of Madison’s Small Business Equity and Recovery (SBER) program was started to support small, independent businesses owned by historically disadvantaged people. In 2020, SBER made two types of grants available, offering up to $5,000 to help businesses that had proven losses of $5,000 or more due to the COVID-19 pandemic and up to $5,000 to cover the cost of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for small business employees.

The City of Madison’s original SBER program ended after ARPA funding ended but the City of Madison’s Common Council and the mayor approved additional funding for a modified SBER program that includes many of the Office of Business Resources’ small business programs throughout the City.

One of the local businesses that has participated in the SBER program is Sash-A Restoration, a women-, minority- and veteran-owned window restoration business located on Atwood Avenue. The business received a total of $1,063 in 2021 as part of the program.

Starting my business during COVID, using the SBER funds for PPE and a professional-grade HEPA filter shop vac seemed appropriate. All of the items purchased help me comply with EPA guidelines for lead-safe renovations.

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Pam Barrett, owner of Sash-A Restoration

The City of Madison’s 2024 Operating Budget includes $600,000 in funding for the SBER program, increasing funding by $100,000 with ARPA money that was reallocated from the Downtown Vacant Storefront Art program, where the funding was not being fully used.

This year, the SBER program will be used in various projects, including the Façade Grant Program, the Commerical Ownership Assistance Program, the Madison Pop Up Shop Program, the BusinessReady Program, Kiva Madison, and several Entrepreneurs of Color programs and initiatives. Funding through the SBER program is used when Tax Increment Finance (TIF) dollars or other funding sources aren’t available to pay for a project. 

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