Baker administration awards another $45 million in small-business grants

Gov. Charlie Baker speaks at the 1620 Winery on Jan. 28. There, he said his administration has awarded another $45 million in pandemic relief grants to about 1,100 small businesses.Stuart Cahill/Pool

The Baker-Polito administration awarded another $45 million in pandemic relief grants to about 1,100 small businesses on Thursday.

It’s the fifth round of grants awarded as part of the state’s Small Business Grant Program, run by the quasi-public agency Massachusetts Growth Capital Corp. Restaurants, bars, and retail stores received the bulk of the grants this round, which ranged from $5,000 to $75,000 each.

Governor Charlie Baker announced the news during a press conference at 1620 Winery in Plymouth, which previously received a relief grant. He said about 300 of the new grant recipients had not received other forms of aid during the pandemic.

The money for the grants comes from the state’s $668 million business relief fund, which was established in December to boost an earlier $50 million effort from MGCC that was oversubscribed. So far, the Baker-Polito administration has awarded more than $277 million through this effort, helping nearly 5,900 small businesses.

With more than $400 million left to hand out, the MGCC is still reviewing applications for its “sector-specific” relief effort, which aims to target hard-hit businesses regardless of their employee headcount. Those businesses include restaurants, food trucks, gyms, personal services such as nail or hair salons, and others. Those grants are expected to be awarded next month.