Launch Lewis County was made possible through a grant from the New York State Homes and Community Renewal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program. Launch Lewis County is a Lewis County Development Corporation program in partnership with Lewis County. 

NYS Community Development Block Grant Program (NYS CDBG) is a federally-funded program that provides financial resources to assist in the development of viable communities by providing decent housing and a suitable living environment and by expanding economic opportunities, principally for persons of low- and moderate-income (LMI).  

The NYS CDBG Microenterprise program achieves the National Objective by providing jobs and economic opportunities for persons from LMI families. The business can qualify one of two ways: 

The owner must meet the low- to moderate- household income guidelines  

-OR-  

The business must demonstrate the creation of at least one full time job to be filled by or made available to someone from a low- to moderate-income household. 

Your 2023 Tax Returns! Income is verified by family size and adjusted gross income, (e.g. Tax Returns). On your tax return, you will want to pay attention to line 11 on your IRS-1040 Form, which demonstrates your family adjusted gross income. Please utilize the chart above to determine your eligibility based on household size and income. Determine your family size by counting yourself and each family member who currently resides with you within the same housing unit and enter the number in the space provided.  A family member is a person who is related to you by birth, marriage, or adoption. Your income must be below the income limit in order to qualify for the Launch Lewis County Program. 

Each microenterprise owner must complete an approved entrepreneurial assistance or small business training program prior to receiving CDBG Microenterprise grant funds. The cost for the owner to attend the training may be an eligible CDBG expense. 

We highly recommend, working one-on-one with a Small Business Development Center Business Advisor. Projects see a higher rate of success when they work closely with the SBDC. AND it’s free! Get started here: https://www.onondagasbdc.org/  

You do NOT need to have a business established at the start of the Launch Lewis County process. When completing the final application for funding, you must have an established business name (DBA, LLC or other), EIN Number and Unique Entity ID Number in order to apply for financial assistance.  

All applicants must provide third-party quotes to demonstrate the costs associated with their projects. This helps us verify that the funds requested align with actual market prices. Applicants do not need to purchase the items or services when you obtain the quotes. We simply ask that you gather quotes within the price range for what you’re planning to acquire. These quotes will support your grant application and help us evaluate your project’s budget. If approved, we will require receipts of purchases or purchase orders in order to reimburse the costs of the project. Please note: You cannot make any purchase prior to being awarded grant funds. 

Funding is not immediate once awards are announced! Businesses that are awarded must work closely with Naturally Lewis to submit receipts of purchase in order to receive reimbursement from NYS.