Originally published in 2020 – Last updated 1/3/2022

Update 1/3/2022: Although you can no longer submit new EIDL grant applications, if you have a declined application, the deadline to submit a reevaluation is 2/15/2021.

Eligible businesses and self-employed individuals may be eligible for up to $15,000 as a completely free grant! This is in addition to the EIDL Loan (which is a loan that needs to be repaid),

The grant is not based on employees. Non-profits, self-employed individuals, and 1099 workers are all eligible for up to a $15,000 grant.

In 2020, the EIDL offered loan applicants grants of $1,000 per employee, up to $10,000 (ten employees). The Targeted Advance gives the difference (if you received $1k, you will receive $9k, if you received $0, then you will receive $10k). The Supplemental Targeted Advance gives an additional $5k, totaling $15k per eligible business.

$10k Targeted Advance

• 300 or fewer employees (self-employed/1099 workers without any employees are considered a business with one employee – yourself)
• Business physically located in a low-income area
• Suffered a 30% Decline in Gross Income. Look at two consecutive months between March 2, 2020 and December 17, 2021, as compared to the same two months in 2019 or through March 2, 2020. 

$5k Supplemental Targeted Advance

• 10 or fewer employees (self-employed/1099 workers without any employees are considered a business with one employee – yourself)
• Business physically located in a low-income area
• Suffered a 50% Decline in Gross Income. Look at two consecutive months between March 2, 2020 and December 17, 2021, as compared to the same two months in 2019 or through March 2, 2020. 

How to Apply

1 – Apply for the EIDL loan

You don’t need to actually accept the loan in order to apply for the grant, but you do need to apply for the loan in order to apply for the grant.
Application Deadline: The $10k Targeted Advance needs to be submitted before 12/31/2021. The $5k Supplemental Targeted Advance needs to be approved by 12/31/2021.

2 – Look out for an email from targetedadvance@sba.gov

It will have the subject line “SBA Application No. xxxxxxxxxxx – Invitation to submit COVID-19 Targeted EIDL Advance application“

3 – Click the link in the email to complete the application

Enter your gross receipts for each month from January 2019. The SBA will use this info to confirm your 30%/50% reduction. (Tip: If you don’t have available income/expense reports, use your bank statements to see your gross receipts).

If you think you might be eligible for the supplemental targeted advance of $5k (10 or fewer employees and had a 50% reduction) then make sure to check “Yes” for question #3,

4 – Set up your online portal

Look out for an email from the SBA with a link to set up your online portal. Once you have done that, make sure to verify identity, sign tax transcript request and submit your grant for processing.

Requesting a Reevaluation

Did you apply for the grant but your application was declined?

If you think that you should be eligible, you can appeal the decision by sending an email to TargetedAdvanceReevaluation@sba.gov

• In the subject line, write: “Reevaluation Request for [insert your 10-digit application number]”
• In the body of the email, include your:
  • Application Number
  • Business Name
  • Business Address
  • Business Owner Name(s)
  • Phone Number
• Include an explanation why you think you should be eligible. You can also attach any documents that can show the reason for the decline in business. The SBA will contact you if additional documentation is required to complete the review.

Click here for a prefilled sample email which you can then edit.

SBA Guidance

• Targeted Advance

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Changes

• How to apply: You can only apply for the grant once you receive an invitation from the SBA. At first, the SBA was only emailing those who applied for an EIDL loan prior to 12/27/2020, however, as of June 2021, the emails are going out to those who applied in 2021 as well.
• Old Grant: The  CARES Act offered EIDL loan applicants a grant of up to $10,000 ($1k per employee, up to 10 employees). The funding for the grant ($20bn) ran out in July 2020. The Coronavirus Response and Relief bill (Dec 27, 2020) allocated funding for these grants, which should mean that people who applied after the grant funding depleted, or will apply, should receive $1k per employee, up to $10k. However, the guidance on the SBA’s website is that the standard EIDL Advance is no longer available.
• $10k vs $5k Grant Application: If you completed the application for the $10k grant before the application form was updated in include the option to request the additional $5k, you need to wait for an email from the SBA inviting you to apply for the $5k grant. On 04/21, the SBA combined the $10k and $5k requests into one form, as shown below.