Illinois Back to Business New Business Grant Program (B2B NewBiz)

To be eligible for a grant award under Illinois B2B NewBiz, for-profit businesses and nonprofit organizations must meet all the criteria listed below:

1. Started operations between January 1, 2020, and December 31, 2021.
2. Had gross receipts of at least $25,000 and up to $20,000,000 in 2021 (annualized if started during 2021).
3. Currently active operations in Illinois.
4. Have not received a Back to Business (B2B) grant prior to 2023.
   • Business Interruption Grant (BIG), Back to Business (B2B) Grant issued prior to 2023, Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG), or Restaurant Revitalization Fund Grant (RRF).
5. Must meet one of the following two criteria:
   • The business or nonprofit is in a priority industry as defined for the previous Back to Business program
     1. A list of priority industries and their definitions can be found here.
   • The business is majority owned by an individual or individuals that became eligible for and received unemployment insurance benefits – including from Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) – between March 13, 2020, and the date the business began operations.

1. independent contractors or freelance workers that do not operate a sole proprietorship; 
2. ​recipients of an Illinois Business Interruption Grant (BIG), Back to Business (B2B) Grant issued prior to 2023, Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG), or Restaurant Revitalization Fund Grant (RRF);
   
3. child care providers that have received and/or are registered for Child Care Restoration Grants; ​
4. a private club or business that limits membership for reasons other than capacity; ​
5. a business primarily engaged in speculative activities that develop profits from fluctuations in price rather than through normal course of trade; ​
6. a business that earns more than a quarter of its annual net revenue from lending activities, unless the business is a non-bank or non-bank holding company certified as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI);​
7. a business that derives at least 33% of its gross annual revenue from legal gambling activities;​
8. a business engaged in pyramid sales, where a participant’s primary incentive is based on the sales made by an ever-increasing number of participants;​
9. a business engaged in activities that are prohibited by federal law or applicable law in the jurisdiction where the business is located or conducted. (Included in these activities is the production, servicing, or distribution of otherwise legal products that are to be used in connection with an illegal activity, such as selling drug paraphernalia or operating a motel that knowingly permits illegal prostitution);​
10. a business principally engaged in teaching, instructing, counseling, or indoctrinating religion or religious beliefs, whether in a religious or secular setting;​
11. a government-owned business entity (except for businesses owned or controlled by a Native American tribe);​
12. a business primarily engaged in political or lobbying activities;​
13. a business that manufactures or sells at wholesale, tobacco products, liquor or that manufactures or sells firearms at wholesale or retail;​
14. a night club or strip club;​
15. a pawn shop;​
16. a liquor store;​
17. an establishment similar to any enumerated above; or​
18. a business in which a majority owner has a financial or familial connection to a director, principal shareholder or leadership member of the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity or Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity’s partner under the program. 
19. a business primarily engaged in administration of COVID-19 tests or COVID-19 vaccine distribution