Iowa to Receive Additional $70 Million in Federal Grants

• Author: Monica Jackson
• Posted: 2024-11-30

Part of the reason that the $2.2 trillion stimulus package from the federal government was so effective for the nation was that this was not the only source of funding. Most states in America actually contributed what they could, often going into arrears themselves to provide additional millions of dollars for grants for schools, small businesses and even some private citizens. Iowa, for instance, handed out more than $140 million to small businesses in their state, but that money quickly ran out. Though on Thursday, April 30, it was revealed that the federal government is reviving this fund in Iowa with an additional $70 million in grants.

The primary reason for the federal government kicking in additional grant money is that hundreds of small businesses in Iowa were denied a grant due to an application process that, according to many of the state's small businesses, "played favorites" with the money they handed out.

This has angered a lot of Iowans, with people getting very upset that women-led and minority-owned businesses were given preference. According to an anonymous business owner, "It's a great thing that we have these [types of grants] for-minority businesses, but not when everyone is in equal risk of failing. At a time like this, everyone is in the same boat and we all need help equally."Because of the application process, many businesses have permanently had to close, and hundreds more are fearing that they soon might be joining them in having to shutter. So this money could not have come at a better time.

The original grant total from Iowa's state coffers was said to be $148 million, though while all of that money is now earmarked, reports suggest that not all of the funds have been paid out to date. In total, over 14,000 small businesses in Iowa submitted applications for that grant money. According to Iowa's official records, 1,200 business owners received grant money at the beginning of April, with more notified that grant money is on the way. However, this still leaves over 10,000 small businesses that did not receive grants because their applications were not approved in the initial process. The federal government's contribution should help more of these businesses receive funding. Though a date when that might finally happen is not yet clear.

Federal Responsibility and State Favorites

As to some Iowans being upset over the application process and the accusation of playing favorites, some officials have gone on record in the state and have tried to make it clear that they cannot simply divide the money equally among all the tens of thousands of businesses, because then no one would have enough money to remain open. So, the only fair way to do it is to have businesses apply, so that a board can assess which businesses are in the most need of the money. Unfortunately, this is going to cause some businesses to go under; perhaps even quite a few of them. However, in times of global pandemic, these things cannot really be helped.

This is part of the reason that many Iowans were pleading for federal funds to assist them. Though some with staunch states'-rights stances on the issue suggest that it's not the federal government's responsibility, even if some of Iowa's small businesses are failing. A lot of people believe that putting the Iowan taxpayers on the hook to the federal government for repaying this money is going to cause a lot more problems than they're dealing with now, once the pandemic has passed.

Though for small business owners in Iowa, many of them believe that this isn't a bridge worth attempting to cross until which point they come to it. They are not worried about the future so much as trying to keep themselves open today. Many people seem to forget that small business owners are typically franchise owners or regular people who are burdened with debt and are just trying to make a business work. Their business's livelihood is how they pay their rent and buy groceries. It's not as if a small business owner just has a lot of money lying around, so thousands of Iowa's business owners are looking forward to the new rounds of grant money, hoping that it will help to stem some of the bleeding.

No concrete date is set yet as to when Iowa's small businesses will receive this money, though government has officially allocated these funds to the state.