1. The Renew Arkadelphia Exterior Renovation Grant is a 50% matching grant to assist small businesses in Arkadelphia with costs associated with renovating their commercial or retail property. The grant covers exterior renovations only.
2. The Arkadelphia Area Chamber of Commerce will match half of a business tenant or a building owner’s investment with a maximum grant amount from the Chamber of $2,500.
3. Applicants must be a member in good standing of the Arkadelphia Area Chamber of Commerce.
4. Buildings should be currently occupied by an active business or should be occupied by an active business within 30 days of the completion of the project.
5. Only exterior renovation projects qualify for this grant. Projects that qualify include: Removal of deterioration; exterior cleaning; re-painting; repair/replacement of exterior doors or windows; installations of canvas awnings; installation of permanent signs; landscaping; sidewalks; paving parking areas; replacing old pavement or concrete with green spaces. Other exterior projects can be approved on a case-by-case basis.
6. Recipients of the grant must submit their project plans including paint/awning colors to the Chamber prior to commencement of the project. Once the Chamber has approved the project, construction/work can begin. Any changes to the approved project plan must be authorized by the Chamber to be eligible for matching funds.
7. No interior renovation costs can be applied toward the applicant’s matching expenditures.
8. In-kind labor or materials do not count toward the applicant’s matching portion. Only contracted labor, materials, supplies, or rented equipment can be counted toward the matching 50%.
9. Applications, with a detailed description of the work to be done and price estimates for the work, must be completed before the work begins.
10. The grant amount will be paid to the applicant only when the work is completed and the vendor has been paid. You must submit receipts for the work before we can reimburse you for the grant.
11. All projects should be started within 3 months of the approval of the application and should be completed within 12 months or grant funds can be put back into the grant pool.
12. All renovations must meet all applicable codes. Failure to comply will result in an automatic refusal of the application.
13. Applicants may only apply for one grant per funding cycle.
14. Applications will be reviewed by a selection committee and award notice will be made by July 1st.
15. Grant funds cannot be used to pay for deductible costs on insurance claims or repairs covered by insurance.
16. If you are not the owner of the building, the building owner must indicate approval of the proposed project by signing this application.
17. The Arkadelphia Area Chamber of Commerce requests that local vendors be utilized for project work. This is not a requirement but preference will be given to applications that are using vendors located in Clark County.
