COVID DIGITAL RECOVERY GRANT

The Growth Hub is releasing a new grant scheme to support Gloucestershire businesses that have been affected by the Covid pandemic.

The Covid Digital Recovery Grant (CDRG) is a cash injection for Gloucestershire SMEs, that are recovering from the impact of Covid. As the name suggests, the CDRG is focused on digital tools and techniques to help businesses find their feet again. That might mean a new or improved website, software, technology, e-commerce, online fulfilment, or another tool or technique to help you recover. If it’s digital, it’s eligible.

Digital is the most powerful recovery tool in the modern business arsenal. It provides value for money, transformational potential, and universal accessibility for companies of all shapes and sizes. If your recovery plan includes digital, here is your chance to fund it.

 Applications open 1^st July 2021 and close 15^th July 2021

Where possible, The Growth Hub is encouraging grant recipients to spend locally, to drive an economic recovery within the county, as well as within their own businesses.

The grants must be spent on new projects, rather than reimbursing the cost of previous projects, and invoices must be paid up front by the business and then reclaimed from The Growth Hub.

Competition is expected to be extremely high for the grants. Businesses are advised to apply as early as possible when the portal opens at 10am on 1st July.

The Digital funding, the Growth Hub HAVE temporarily closed this due to the volume of responses.  They ARE still accepting applications from the Forest, so if you have or know of any SMEs in the Forest of Dean, please do encourage them to apply by getting in touch at digitalgrants@thegrowthhub.biz .

Eligibility criteria

1. Priority will be given to those businesses that have not received previous funding from The Growth Hub, including the SME Recovery Grant. If you have received funding, you may nonetheless still apply.
2. Your business must have been registered prior to March 2020 (i.e. pre-Covid).
3. Your business must be an SME trading in Gloucestershire and employ a maximum of 20 FTE (full-time equivalent) employees.

Grant criteria

1. Grants can only be spent on Covid recovery activity, not for rescuing a business or investing in a new start-up.
2. Grants can only be spent on improving processes, sales or services through digital enhancement and implementation.
3. Grants can only be spent on digital improvement or digital products, including professional services relating to digital enhancement.
4. Grants should be spent within Gloucestershire, where possible.
5. Applications should include 3 written quotes, highlighting the preferred supplier, within 2 weeks from the first stage of approval. Grants cannot be spent until the final stage of approval is confirmed.
6. Once final stage approval is confirmed, the business has 8 weeks to make payment for goods or services. 
7. Reimbursement will be made within 30 days following submissions of proof of payment - bank statement and paid invoice(s). 

Business obligations

1. Business agrees to provide GFirst LEP with bank details as part of the process.
2. Business agrees to spend the value of the grant on goods or services as stated in the Grant Application Form.
3. Business agrees to provide the required documentation to evidence spend within 8 weeks of receiving the Funding Agreement Form. Or before Friday 22/10/2021, whichever is soonest.
4. Business understands that the bank statements and paid invoice(s) are required for grant expenditure to be reimbursed.