The UPS Store Small Biz Challenge

Aitkin County has two grant opportunities designed to support local businesses. The first opportunity is the Aitkin County Business Development & Recreation Grant Program, which supports projects that enhance tourism, recreation and small business development. Grants range from $100 to $2,000, with a required 1:1 local match and are available to businesses and nonprofit organizations located in or serving Aitkin County. Eligible projects include tourism and recreation events, business attraction efforts and initiatives that promote sustained visitor growth. The second opportunity, the Aitkin County Business Revitalization Grant Program, focuses on supporting for-profit businesses to improve the exterior appearance of their properties. Revitalization grants range from $1,000 to $5,000, also requiring a 1:1 match. Eligible improvements include exterior building upgrades, new or replacement signage and awnings and outdoor aesthetic enhancements. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis until funds are depleted, with projects evaluated on creativity, visual impact and community benefit.

Inspired by Founders First CEO, Kim Folsom’s brother, U.S. Navy Veteran Stephen L. Tadlock, the $25,000 fund will make investments of $1,000 each to 25 veterans who are running employer-based small businesses across the country.

The Main Street Acquisition Support Grant product is a pilot product under the Main Street Recovery Fund that will offer a grant of up to $50,000 to reimburse an eligible NJ small business for closing costs related to a New Jersey commercial property that the business purchased to operate from.

The Theories, Models and Methods (TMM) initiative will support the development of computational tools for understanding dynamic brain circuits that are made broadly accessible to the greater research community. This program supports applications focused on tool building and dissemination in the domain of theories about neural circuit mechanisms, models of circuit structure and function, and/or computational methods of analysis spanning across scales from neurons to behavior. The development of novel theories, computational models and methods for understanding brain function will help characterize fundamental principles of brain function and organization, characterize cellular and circuit-level neural computations over time in different regions, and understand how interactions of multiple brain circuits enable flexible behaviors and contribute to brain-wide neural dynamics. These tools will be critical for developing treatments such as closed loop systems for brain disorders including Parkinsons disease and major depressive disorder.

Purpose: This grant allows Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNFs) and associations on behalf of facilities to apply for funding for in-person visitation support materials. Description: CMP In-Person Visitation grants provide funding for nursing homes to facilitate safer in-person visits through use of outdoor and indoor equipment such as tents, clear dividers, portable fans, and portable room air cleaners with high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA, H-13 or 14) filters in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Replacement air filters are a prohibited expense under this program. Facilities must attest they meet the requirements to purchase the materials and facilitate in-person visitation for residents. Facilities must be certified through the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Applicants may request up to a maximum of $3,000.00 per facility.