Frequently Asked Questions

As security of sensitive information is of the utmost importance, MGCC has chosen to contract with a third-party online platform, Submittable, for application submissions. Please read on to review Submittable’s statement regarding its security and compliance measures with collected documentation and information: 

Submittable meets the standard in the SaaS industry. All data is encrypted in transmission and at rest. As the platform works with several government organizations with sensitive & private information, security and compliance are paramount at Submittable.

• What compliance certifications does Submittable offer? Submittable maintains compliance with the security and privacy requirements of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), as well as many other applicable frameworks, including SOC 2 Type 2, FERPA, and PCI. We also undergo third-party web accessibility testing at least annually, and our most current VPAT is available upon request. We are also an active member of the EU-US Privacy Shield.
• Does Submittable comply with X state or country privacy laws? Submittable is a United States SaaS company. We maintain several security and privacy controls as described and documented in our terms of use and third-party compliance reports. For a detailed and third-party audited description of our controls, please refer to our latest SOC 2 Type 2 report. For specific guidance on how these certifications and controls map to your local laws and regulations, please consult your legal counsel.
• How do you determine data ownership? All data used, transferred, or stored is owned by the creator of that data. For more information, please refer to our terms of service.
• Has Submittable ever had a data breach? No. For a third-party attestation on this topic, please refer to the latest copy of our SOC 2 Type 2 report.

Is data encrypted at rest?  All data is stored at an Amazon Web Services (AWS) data center in the Northern Virginia region (us-east-1) and is encrypted at rest using standard AWS methods. We use AWS' Relational Database Service and AWS S3's built-in encryption, which uses AES-256. We have a single master key managed by AWS Key Management Service. For more information, please refer to the relevant AWS user guide at: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/UserGuide/Overview.Encryption.html.

Your application must be filled out and submitted electronically through the online application portal along with attachments as stated in the “Required Documentation” section. Hard copies or electronic copies submitted in any other way, such as mailed or emailed, will not be considered. Additionally, only complete, accurate and legible applications will be considered.

Applications must include all required documentation by the program deadline in order to be considered. Please see full list of “Required Documentation”. Common omissions that would exclude your application from consideration:

• Certificate of Good Standing from the Massachusetts Secretary of State’s office
• Complete 2020 Federal Business Tax Return or Schedule C
• Complete 2020 Federal Personal Tax Returns, including all schedules, for each business owner with 20% or greater ownership

Applications will be accepted by MGCC through MGCC’s online application portal, Submittable, and evaluated by MGCC staff based upon eligibility criteria and priorities described above. MGCC will award and disburse grants to those that are approved.

Add all employee hours worked in one week and divide by 40. Round up resulting number to the nearest whole number.

Example: 300 hours / 40 = 7.5 >>> round up >>> 8 FTE's

Yes, however no business and/or business owner is eligible to receive more than one grant from these programs.

No.

Only one grant per business owner would be awarded.

If you did not report 12 months of revenues or operating expenses in fiscal year 2020, then take the following steps to annualize them:

1. Take operating expenses from above mentioned line of 2020 Federal Business Tax Return or Schedule C on your 2020 Federal Personal Tax Return

2. Divide answer to Step #1 by the actual number of months the business was in operation

3. Multiple results of Step #2 by 12

4. This number is your resulting annualized revenues or operating expenses

If you received funds from any of these prior MGCC Grant Programs, you are ineligible to apply to the New Applicant Grant Program:

• COVID-19 Relief Grant Program
• Small Business Grants for 5 or Fewer Employees
• Small Business Grants for 50 or Fewer Employees
• Sector-Specific Relief Grant Program  
• COVID-19 Small Business Recovery Loan Fund

Yes.

No. All applications that are received by the program’s deadline will be considered.

​​​​​​No, while the application is only available in English, the program’s overviews are available in 10 different languages.

​​​​​This will depend on the volume of applications received by the program’s deadline and subject to change. Awards are anticipated to be announced in June 2022.

No.

​​​​​No business and/or business owner is eligible to receive more than one grant from these programs.

​​​​​All submissions are considered final and will not be opened for editing. Prior to submitting your application, please review your responses and ensure that all required fields are complete and accurate. Once you have reviewed your responses and are ready to submit your application, click "Submit".

​​​​​MGCC will communicate with applicants through the online application portal, Submittable. You will receive email notifications of new messages from MGCC to the email address you used to sign up for a Submittable account.

​​​​​Your email service provider will sometimes try to predict incoming spam mail on your behalf and filter it into your spam folder before you ever see it. If you're not receiving expected emails from notifications@email.submittable.com, you will want to safelist the notifications@email.submittable.com address to help ensure that these emails reach you.

Yes, they can apply with a valid Business Certificate from the city/town in which they operate or current (within 12 months) Certificate of Good Standing.

The employee count needs to be current head count.

Business that did not experience a negative economic impact from the public health emergence are ineligible.

Payment plans should be uploaded along with the application.

No.

This type of business is not specifically excluded.

A current Certificate of Good Standing matching the new name must be obtained.

No.

No.

Yes, as long as you have filed a business tax return for revenue earned from that business in 2020.

No.

Yes.

The number of months a business is considered “in operation” is equal to the total number of months in 2020 that the business was actively generating sales revenue.

In an effort to make a significant positive impact in our local communities, maximizing these grants dollars by offering the opportunity to businesses with 2 – 50 FTE employees serves more families during these times.