Arlington Awards $860K In Grants To 22 Small Businesses, Nonprofits

ARLINGTON, MA — The Town of Arlington has awarded $860,900 in Transformative Growth Grants to 22 nonprofit organizations and small businesses.

The Transformative Growth Grants Program, funded by the town’s allocation from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and administered by the Department of Planning and Community Development, is helping businesses and nonprofits that were impacted by COVID-19 plan for future growth.

Small businesses and nonprofit organizations representing a variety of industries disproportionately impacted by the pandemic received grants for placemaking, programming, facilities and infrastructure, personnel, or planning projects. The following entities received grant awards:

• Arlington Boys & Girls Club
• Arlington Center for the Arts
• Arlington Children's Theatre
• Arlington Commission for Arts & Culture
• BroadBand Collaborative
• Bubble Nation
• Butternut Bakehouse
• Cyrus Dallin Art Museum
• Helena's
• J.R. Burke Salon
• Kickstand Cafe
• Lamplight Women's Literacy Center
• Lotus Yoga Studio
• Menotomy Grill & Tavern
• Morningside Music Studio
• Magic Bites
• Regent Theatre
• Schwamb Mill Preservation Trust
• Thai Moon
• The Object of Stories Gallery
• Thrive Cafe
• YourArlington.org

“The Transformative Growth Grants Program was created to be intentionally flexible in order to maximize impact,” Claire Ricker, Director of the Department of Planning and Community Development, said in a statement. "By providing support to Arlington’s creative and determined nonprofit and business community, this program is contributing to the long-term economic recovery and resiliency of Arlington.”

The Transformative Growth Grants program application process was competitive, with 44 applications submitted. This program follows a series of prior economic recovery programs in Arlington. The Small Business and Nonprofit Working Capital Grant Fund supported 81 businesses with nearly $640,000 in ARPA grants.

Arlington also awarded over $430,000 in COVID relief funds to 46 small businesses in 2020-2021 through additional allocations of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds made possible by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

For more information, contact covidrelief@town.arlington.ma.us.