Salesforce has opened a new small business grant scheme offering £5,000 to small businesses that haven't receieved any government grant support for Covid-19.
Global CRM software and cloud computing firm Salesforce has opened a new small business grant scheme for companies in the UK struggling to access government support, starting with those in Northern Ireland. From now until 24th May 2020, companies in Northern Ireland can apply a £5,000 Salesforce Care Grant if they have been unable to access any government grant funding in response to the coronavirus outbreak.
The UK government's package of coronavirus support hasn't reached many small businesses across the UK, with some finding that they aren't eligible for any support at all. The £10k grant scheme for small businesses to help them get through the pandemic was limited to businesses that pay rates in Northern Ireland, for example, while in England the grant was expanded to cover businesses in shared offices too.
The most successful intervention so far has been the job retention scheme, but that's only suitable for companies that want to furlough workers during the pandemic. Some businesses in Northern Ireland have found that the only support they can get from the government right now comes in the form of a loan, and some have even had trouble accessing the loans.
To qualify for the £5,000 grant, firms must be registered at Companies House and established for at least 12 months. They must be based in the UK and have a British bank account, and must have bwetween 2 and 50 employees; Solo director service companies and larger firms cannot apply. Finally, your company must not ahve received any other cash grant in relation to COVID-19 from any government.
A total of 134 grants are to be awarded across the UK, split into six regions. Northern Ireland is the first region to be open for applications, starting today and ending on May 24th. The decision on which companies get the funding will fall to Enterprise Nation, a community of small businesses and business advisers that has been selected as Salesforce's partner for the programme.
Source: Enterprise Nation
