Business Recovery Grants Bring Up to $100,000 to Moss Point

Moss Point small businesses still carrying damage from the 2023 and 2024 tornadoes and straight-line winds now have a direct path to recovery funding. The Mississippi Development Authority is accepting applications for business recovery grants of up to $100,000, and Moss Point’s 39563 ZIP code is one of only seven areas in the state where businesses can qualify.

These are grants, not loans. The money does not have to be repaid as long as recipients follow the terms of the award. Funding flows through the federal Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery program, part of the nearly $135 million HUD approved for Mississippi’s storm recovery.

What the business recovery grants cover

The Business Recovery and Revitalization Program, known as BRRP, exists to keep storm-hit businesses open and local people employed. Its Small Business Recovery Grant pathway awards up to $100,000 per business to cover working capital shortfalls, replace inventory that was damaged or made obsolete by the storms, and repair or replace the equipment, furniture, and fixtures a business needs to get back to full operation.

Applications are reviewed first-come, first-served. Once the funding is spoken for, it is gone, so businesses with unmet storm-related needs should not wait.

Who qualifies

The program is open to small businesses and microenterprises in an eligible area. Moss Point’s 39563 ZIP code qualifies alongside Sharkey, Hinds, and Scott counties and the communities of Belzoni, Silver City, and Amory. Businesses willing to relocate into an eligible area may also apply. To qualify, a business must meet the program’s core requirements. It must:

• Have been operating before the qualifying storm, and be open now or able to reopen with the grant’s help
• Employ no more than 50 full-time equivalent workers
• Show pre-disaster annual gross revenue of at least $25,000
• Be in good tax and financial standing
• Still have recovery needs after all other disaster assistance has been used
• Commit to creating or retaining jobs that benefit low and moderate income workers

Applicants also need an active registration in the federal System for Award Management at SAM.gov, with a Unique Entity Identifier in hand by the time an award is made. Registration is free, and starting it early keeps it from slowing your application down later. Expect to document ownership and identification, disaster impact, a business plan, employment projections, and any other disaster assistance you have received.

A second pathway for downtown and commercial corridors

BRRP also includes a Façade and Commercial Corridor Revitalization pathway that funds up to $250,000 per project for storefront and exterior improvements, signage, lighting, sidewalks, landscaping, and accessibility upgrades. That pathway works differently. The state will invite applicants based on the projects included in each community’s Local Recovery Plan, so individual businesses do not apply for it directly. It lines up with the City’s larger effort to strengthen our commercial corridors, which you can follow on the Investment In Moss Point page.

Read the program documents

The official program flyer and the full community toolkit from the Mississippi Development Authority are embedded below. Both spell out the grant pathways, eligibility requirements, and application steps in detail, and you are welcome to download either one and share it with a business owner who needs it.

Download the BRRP program flyer (PDF)

Download the BRRP Community Partner Toolkit (PDF)

How to apply

The Mississippi Development Authority previewed these programs at a community meeting here in Moss Point this July. Now the application is live. Start at the Small Business Recovery Grant application portal, or reach the program team at 866-981-7727 or [email protected] with questions.

If you are not sure whether your business qualifies, ask anyway. A phone call costs nothing, and this funding exists so Moss Point businesses can finish recovering and keep our local economy growing.