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Bay Future | Bay Future Focus: August 2022

Michigan Business Network
August 11, 2022 5:00 PM

08.21.19 -- BayFutureDriveForward.

President & CEO's Message

Over the past week, Bay Future, Inc., along with Bay County Commissioners and the County Executive, have had the opportunity to hear, firsthand, about some of the challenges Bay County small businesses continue to face and to learn how the Bay County Small Business Grant Program has helped to alleviate some of that pain and anxiety.
 
Jarrid Weighman, the owner of Barney’s BakeHouse Bakery, shared that the grant award helped him offset the rising cost of ingredients, explaining, that before COVID-19, he paid about $46 for a case of lard. Today, that case costs about $218. That's nearly a 375% increase.
 
Some owners shared they simply couldn't offer certain products on their menus or in their stores because their suppliers just did not have the items in stock. In many cases, their suppliers couldn't tell them when they would be in stock again, forcing owners to get very creative in sourcing products, when possible, often times shopping at the local grocery store for more common items and ingredients.
 
Since the Bay County Small Business Grant Program opened in May, our team, along with the support of the Bay Future, Inc., Board of Directors, has been working expeditiously to support these businesses. To date, we've awarded nearly 115 small businesses nearly $850,000 in grant funding to offset the impact COVID-19 has wrought.
 
We're thankful for the leadership of the Bay County Board of Commissioners in offering their support for this program. We're thankful these business owners are steadfast in their commitment to their business and to Bay County. And we're thankful to our community for continuing to support home-grown, local, small businesses!
 
Keyes 2022
 
 
Happy reading,
 
-Trevor Keyes, EDFP
President & CEO
Bay Future, Inc.
 
 
 
Featured Content
 
Bay County Small Business Grant Program
 
Our team has been meeting with businesses throughout Bay County and their respective Bay County Commissioners to discuss the impacts of the Bay County Small Business Grant Program
 
 
 
 
 
 
Learn more about Wilson's Cheese Shoppe
Wilson's Cheese Shoppe
"We hire local, we spend local, and that dollar that comes through our door on average spends five times in our community," Brian Saha, CEO at Pinconning Cheese
 
 
 
 
Investor Spotlight
 
Meet Chris Sheridan
Bay Future, Inc. Meet Chris Sheridan
"We believe it's important to give back to the community that's given us so much and we know that it is our manufacturers and other local businesses that we need to give our time and talent back to"
 
Learn more about Chris Sheridan, Bay Future, Inc. Board of Director and Senior Manager at Yeo & Yeo and his role on the BFI Board of Directors!
 
 
 
Featured Program
 
Bay Area Community Foundation to Award ARPA Funds to Local Nonprofits
 
 
Huntington's Lift Local Business Program
 
 
Employee Retention Credit (ERC) Tax Refunds
Our goal is simple—to make sure that our members are aware of the Employee Retention Credit. So, we ask, have you determined if your company is eligible? The IRS estimates that 70% of all businesses could qualify, yet only 15% of these businesses have applied.
  
For eligible companies, there is money earmarked that was to be awarded as a stimulus for your company’s survival through the COVID pandemic: the Employee Retention Credit (ERC). Don’t be confused, unlike PPP, this is NOT a loan. These are credits that Congress granted against payroll taxes for retaining employees instead of laying them off. It is money your business has already paid in payroll taxes being refunded. 
  
Determining if your company is eligible is as simple as contacting your CPA or tax advisor. Many, though, may not have the expertise needed to take your company through the entire eligibility determination process. To ensure our members that were impacted by the pandemic receive this valuable assistance they are entitled to, we have partnered with ERC Today, an accounting firm specializing exclusively in Employee Retention Credit (ERC) recovery.
 
 
 
  
 
Bay Future, Inc. Platinum Level Investors!
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