The Charter Transportation & Border Business Assistance (CTBBA) grant program’s funding originates from the federal Coronavirus Relief Fund and will be awarded in the form of grants to provide direct assistance to a very targeted group of small businesses and organizations that have been, and continue to be, adversely and highly affected for an extended period of time by the disruption of operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic even as many restrictions have been lifted.
The types of businesses and organizations that may apply are:
- Charter Transportation; Land & Sea Excursions; and Port Harbor Operators (harbor pilots) statewide; and
- Customer-facing businesses and organizations that are open to the public and within 25 miles driving distance of a US-Canada border crossing including, but not limited to Retail Trade & Food Services.
The businesses and organizations in these target industry classifications and geographic areas continue to experience hardship due to very specific market closures and conditions that still exist despite the progress towards full reopening; and, they may not have had access to prior pandemic relief grant programs. Some of these market conditions include the extended closure of the US-Canada border which has severely restricted regular traffic of Canadian residents to businesses in communities along the border; a second season of cancelled cruise ship visits; and continued limitations on youth/student group travel for sports and field trips.
The program is governed by Federal CARES Act requirements and the State cannot expand eligibility to organizations excluded in the Federal legislation. DECD, in collaboration with its economic development and business support partners, is offering this round of targeted grant funds to bridge the gap between continued restrictions on operations due to specific market conditions continuing to affect these businesses and organizations, and their ability to more fully re-open.
The money available for these grants cannot wholly replace or repair the economic damage this pandemic has caused. Our goal is to ensure that each dollar has at least a small, direct impact on supporting these targeted Maine businesses.
For complete information, please refer to the full CTBBA Grant Program Overview (PDF), CTBBA Grant Program FAQ’s (PDF) and the CTBBA Grant Application (PDF). Downloading and printing a copy of the Grant Application is highly recommended.
Applications will be accepted until 11:59 PM September 13, 2021. Visit the online grant application to complete the form electronically.
If you have any questions that are not addressed in the instructions or the FAQ’s, please call: 1-800-872-3838 and press 3, or email: BizAwards.DECD@maine.gov.