MN PROMISE Act Grant Program (Round 2)

How Much Funding Could Your Business Receive?

The same $50,000 headline means very different things to different businesses. Start with the gross revenue shown for the most recently completed taxable year, not the amount you hope to receive.

Here’s the ladder. Find your completed tax-year revenue first, then read across to the maximum that applies:

For example, $90,000 in gross revenue places a business in the $10,000 ceiling band; at $250,000 it moves to the $25,000 band, and more than $350,000 up to $750,000 puts it in the $50,000 band. That’s a way to locate the ceiling, NOT a forecast of what an applicant will receive. Build the plan around your band, not the headline figure.

One distinction can save you a serious budgeting mistake: the statutory maximum is not the amount NDC promises to pay. The administrator publishes a separate award chart, and the final award determination may be lower than the statutory ceiling. Plan around ordinary operating costs, like payroll for existing staff or rent on the business premises, and review the official award chart before treating a potential grant as part of a spending or cash-flow plan.^[1]

Don’t substitute a good sales month, a forecast or net profit for the completed tax-year gross revenue. Once you have the right band, turn to a different kind of number: the street address where the business actually operates.

Your Business Address Matters More Than the City Name

Two businesses a few blocks apart can get different answers: one inside the mapped PROMISE Act area, the other outside it, both with Minneapolis addresses. Same city, different outcome.

Neighborhood Development Center (NDC) administers this Round 2 application for specific mapped parts of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, so “we’re in Minneapolis” is not an eligibility test. The boundary can run between nearby businesses.

Most of us picture a city. This program asks you to picture a line. Don’t expect a city name, a neighborhood reputation or general familiarity with the area to move that line for you.

Use the official map: MN PROMISE Act geographic eligibility map. It includes an address search, so you can check the exact operating address instead of guessing from the neighborhood name.^[2]

The address to check is the one where the business actually operates, because a P.O. box or a virtual mail service doesn’t count as an eligible physical operating location. If the business operates from home, that address may be relevant, but there is also a separate federal home-use deduction condition to satisfy.^[3]

North Minneapolis, Lake Street, Uptown, University Avenue, Midway: these names help you find the right part of the city, but none gives you a yes on eligibility. Search the address, not the neighborhood.

There is another trap here: the mailing address, registered address and actual operating address may not be identical. If yours differ, don’t select whichever address appears most convenient. Identify the real operating location and ask NDC if the rules remain unclear.

A quick map search now can spare you hours gathering documents for the wrong location.

The Rules Beyond Revenue and Location

A good revenue band and an address inside the map are a promising start, not a complete eligibility answer. Your tax filing, registration, employees, future operating plans and ownership can still change the result.

Start with the tax record

Gross annual revenue must be $750,000 or less in the most recently completed taxable year, and there is no minimum revenue threshold. Check the filing next: the most recent required business tax return must be filed or officially extended.

A young business isn’t automatically out, but “we only just opened” doesn’t waive a required tax filing. Minnesota Secretary of State registration also applies where the law requires it (certain sole proprietors are exempt). Make sure the documents and the legal setup tell the same story.^[4]

Registration and employees

At least 50% of the business’s employees must be based in Minnesota.^[5]

If you work alone, don’t translate “at least 50% of employees” into an automatic no. The official form offers response options for your situation, so use the one that actually fits. If none of them accounts for a business with no employees, ask NDC before submitting.

Two separate 12-month commitments

The business must be operating and capable of continuing operations for at least 12 months after receiving a grant. Separately, it must remain at its eligible location for the required 12-month period after the grant agreement.

Here’s why the two promises matter. A shop might be confident it can trade for another year, yet already be planning a move away from its eligible address. Don’t assume continued operation resolves the separate location commitment.^[6]

Ownership and previous participation

If an owner has 20% or greater ownership across multiple businesses, the applicable rules limit that owner to one qualifying application. Having multiple locations does not give the owner permission to submit a separate qualifying application for every business.^[7]

Round 1 recipients cannot receive a second PROMISE Act grant in Round 2. Applied in Round 1 and didn’t get funded? You’re not a Round 1 recipient, so you may apply again if you satisfy the other rules, using the same email address you used for the Round 1 application.^[8]

There is also a specific exclusion for individuals convicted of an offense relating to a state grant agreement, and it is limited to that kind of offense. It does not disqualify an owner for any other type of conviction.^[9]

For ownership, the expensive mistake is treating several storefronts as several independent chances without checking the 20% rule. Set out who owns what first. If the structure is unusual, send NDC that specific question rather than submitting multiple applications on an assumption.

The Different Tests for Home Businesses and Nonprofits

Home businesses and nonprofits deserve their own check. Both can look eligible at first glance and still miss a condition that ordinary storefront applicants never encounter.

Home-based and online businesses

A home-based business may qualify, including an online business operating from a home address. But the program applies a specific condition concerning the prior-year federal home-use deduction under Internal Revenue Code Section 280A(c)(1).

The relevant federal return must support the qualifying deduction condition, so locate that return and check the deduction before assuming the address is sufficient.^[10]

A mapped home address alone cannot answer this question. Where the tax treatment is unclear, ask NDC or an appropriate tax professional before asserting that the condition is met.

Nonprofits that earn revenue

The nonprofit rules provide two alternative pathways:

• 30% pathway: At least 30% ongoing earned revenue from qualifying sales or dues.
• 10% pathway: At least 10% earned revenue together with qualifying permanent customer-facing operations.

Read the second one twice. The percentage is the easy half to remember; the permanent customer-facing operation is the half that can trip you.^[11]

Eligible nonprofit applicants must also supply IRS Form 990 or Form 990-EZ. A postcard filing is insufficient for this purpose.^[12]

For a nonprofit, put the earned-revenue calculation beside the route it is intended to satisfy. Is it the 30% route? Or the 10% route with the required permanent customer-facing operation? Don’t take the percentage from one route and drop the premises condition from the other.

If neither pathway holds up on paper, get clarification from NDC before committing money to preparation.

From Starting the Form to Final Verification

Don’t expect to upload one form and simply wait for a deposit. This is a verification process with a form inside it, running through three principal stages with further review and payment requirements inside that sequence. Stage 1 ends with an eligibility decision: official guidance says a confirmation email arrives within a few minutes, and a second email within about 60 minutes explains whether the application can move forward.^[13]

Stage 1: Register and submit

Start with registration, email verification and the first business details. Use an inbox the owner can actually access; the later steps depend on receiving and responding to messages. Names and addresses entered here should already match the supporting records.

Stage 2: Provide and reconcile documents

There isn’t one identical upload package for every applicant. NDC requests documents according to the applicant’s circumstances and may ask for corrections or more evidence. Read each request against the records you actually have.

Picture the reviewer seeing three names or addresses: a legal name on the tax return, a trading name at the bank, and a former address on another document. None necessarily proves a problem. Together, though, they need an explanation that ties them to the same applicant.

Stage 3: State review and final verification

The application then moves through state review, applicable identity verification and payment processing, with secure identity verification through Plaid in the final stage. If the State approves the award, the funds are sent to NDC, which deposits them directly into the applicant’s bank account.^[14] Remember that the primary business owner remains responsible for submitting the application and personally completing identity verification.

Help with the paperwork is one thing; verifying the owner’s identity is another. An adviser can organize records, but the owner personally completes the required identity check, and official application assistance doesn’t change that.^[15]

Banking and payment

Check the receiving account before the application reaches payment stage. A traditional United States bank or credit-union account is required. Don’t count on Venmo, PayPal, Zelle or Cash App alone, because they do not meet the administrator’s banking requirement. The document requirements also include a voided check and a signed ACH form.^[16]

A rent payment due next week cannot safely depend on this application. Even a complete application has a published processing time of at least 12 weeks. Keep a separate plan for urgent bills rather than counting a possible grant as money already available.^[17]

The Records Worth Checking Before You Apply

The official document page identifies eight generally required records, and the number sounds intimidating until you sort them by job: some establish eligibility, some identify the owner, others deal with payment or a later award.

Here’s a more useful filing system than one folder called “grant paperwork.”

Tax and eligibility

• Most recent filed federal business tax return: Including Schedule C where applicable, supporting the tax and revenue checks.
• Proof of physical operating address: Supporting the location identified in the application.

Identity and taxpayer details

• Current government-issued photo identification: Supporting the owner’s identity.
• IRS Form W-9: Supporting the relevant taxpayer and business information.

Banking and payment

• Voided check: Showing the appropriate account information.
• Signed ACH form: Supporting payment arrangements.

Award and recipient processing

• Grant Agreement Letter.
• Certificate of Grant Recipient.

The last two belong to the agreement and recipient stage. Do not assume every document on the overall requirements page must be completed before the initial application is submitted.^[18]

Additional circumstances can require additional evidence: nonprofits need the appropriate Form 990 or 990-EZ, applicants relying on an official tax extension need relevant extension evidence, and preference-point claims may require historical tax returns or transcripts. Ownership, business-name and operating-address clarification records may also be requested.

Start with the tax return because it anchors revenue and filing status. Then prove the operating address, reconcile owner and business identities, and check the bank account. The agreement-stage records stay on your radar, but they aren’t forms every applicant must bring to the opening screen.

Preference Points Can Affect Selection, Not Eligibility

Mandatory first. Preferences second.

An applicant can qualify without scoring every preference point. And a perfect preference score cannot rescue a business that fails a mandatory rule. Keep those two decisions separate.

Once the mandatory checks hold up, look at the three preference areas:

1. Qualifying previous assistance: A documented total of $10,000 or less from the four specified Minnesota relief programs.
2. Financial hardship: A documented revenue loss across the two relevant tax years, supported by tax returns.
3. Operating during 2021: Evidence that the business operated in calendar year 2021.

The program’s official preference rules determine which past programs, financial conditions and documents count, and extra returns or transcripts may be needed to establish a claimed preference. Meeting a preference factor does not guarantee an award.^[19]

Each factor carries one point, for a maximum of three. For the earlier-assistance factor, the named programs are the Minnesota Small Business Emergency Loan Program, Minnesota Small Business Relief Grants, County Relief Grants to Local Businesses and the Minnesota Movie Theater and Convention Center Grant. Note the competition structure: funding is divided into geographic-area pools, so applicants compete within their area. Complete and correct applications are processed in receipt order, while a computer-generated random number settles ties between equal preference scores in the same area.^[20]

So don’t spend an afternoon hunting for a 2021 record while an unresolved address or ownership question still decides the whole application. Mandatory eligibility comes first. Then gather proof only for the preference factors you can genuinely claim.

What the Grant Can Pay For – and What It Cannot

The most useful question here isn’t how much the program pays. It is whether it pays for the thing your business needs next.

Start with the bill you’re trying to cover. Is it payroll, rent, utilities or eligible equipment? Those are the ordinary operating-cost categories this grant is designed to support.

Now the firm boundary: real-estate acquisition, land purchases, property down payments, physical tenant improvements, personal expenses, back taxes and buying another business are excluded. So is paying an application preparer from the grant.^[21]

The permitted list is short. The excluded list is where budgets go wrong, so write each planned cost down before you build the budget around it.

Keep the distinction simple: keeping a business open is one purpose, purchasing a new property is another. Payroll for existing staff may fall within the permitted operating-cost categories. Buying the building those staff work in is a different purpose and is excluded.

The PROMISE Act also has lending activity, but loan financing and grant funding are not interchangeable. A property-financing need should not be forced into the grant’s operating-expense rules.

Write one line for each planned cost: what it is, how much it is, and which permitted category covers it. If the category column stays blank, don’t force the expense into the application. That may be your signal to look for other financing.

What Actual Grantee Stories Show

The recipient stories put real businesses beside those expense categories. They describe support for things like payroll, rent, supplies, inventory and equipment, not just ambitious expansion projects.

Here are four verified Round 2 examples, each drawn from a separate official story:

• Studio Apparatus, North Minneapolis: Support for rent, payroll and artist-residency supplies.^[22]
• Elpis Enterprises, Saint Paul: Funding for payroll, rent, utilities and youth programming.^[23]
• Glam Luxe Hair Studio, Uptown Minneapolis: Support for inventory, staffing and equipment.^[24]
• Go Crazy Gaming, North Minneapolis: Support for equipment, payroll and operating expenses.^[25]

I find these stories useful for understanding what support looked like, not for estimating anyone’s chances. The four published stories don’t give individual award amounts, so there’s no sound basis for assigning one to any of them.

What the historical numbers actually measure

These figures need a careful read because they come from different dates and cover different groups of awards. Add them together and you’d count unlike things as though they were separate pots of funding.

The Minnesota DEED annual report recorded 651 NDC Round 1 grants totaling approximately $9.567 million from 3,709 applications. This is NDC’s first-round result, not its Round 2 outcome.^[26]

Then there’s the legislative report: 901 awards totaling approximately $14.199 million across NDC’s combined rounds through March 2, 2026. That one combines rounds within NDC’s scope.^[27]

Back to the DEED annual report, which separately recorded 306 Round 2 awards totaling approximately $5.951 million across all partner programs through March 5, 2026. Notice the scope: the wider partner system, not just NDC.^[28]

And the official program homepage reported more than $16 million distributed and more than 1,000 businesses supported as observed on November 11, 2026, a program-wide running total at that observation date, not an NDC Round 2 count.^[29]

There is a useful signal here: awards have been made. There isn’t a personal approval probability hiding in those totals, and they don’t tell you how much funding remains today.

Should You Apply, Prepare, Ask, or Look Elsewhere?

After those checks, you don’t have to force a yes-or-no answer. Four next moves make more sense:

Apply

If you’re still reading, you may already have your answer: your exact operating address is inside the official mapped area, the business meets the applicable revenue and eligibility requirements, the planned use is permitted, and current intake is confirmed. Begin through the official Round 2 application.

Prepare

The business appears to fit, but something important is missing. Perhaps the latest return is difficult to locate, the business and banking names need reconciling, or a nonprofit revenue calculation needs support. Identify that precise gap and gather the evidence before committing to the next application stage.

Ask

A meaningful rule is unresolved. Examples include an address near a mapped boundary, an unusual ownership structure, a home-office deduction question or a nonprofit premises condition. Contact NDC rather than guessing, and lead with the specific fact: the exact operating address, the ownership percentages, the deduction line on the return. One precise question beats a general description of your business.

Redirect

The address falls outside the program boundary, a decisive qualification condition fails or the money is needed for an excluded purchase. Don’t read that as a verdict on your business. It means this particular NDC application is not the correct match. If your business operates elsewhere in Minnesota, the Minnesota PROMISE Act program overview explains how the wider program is divided among seven regional partners, each with its own counties and application timeline.

Other Grant Opportunities Worth Comparing

A wrong fit here does not mean funding research is over. But please don’t carry the same assumptions into the next program, because each alternative has its own rules.

• A Minnesota for-profit business disrupted by recent events can compare the Economic Response Fund, which is aimed at short-term stabilization costs.
• An established U.S. small business looking for a smaller national award can examine the Start.Pivot.Grow. Micro Grant.
• A self-employed NASE member can review NASE Growth Grants, which require membership, impose a ninety-day wait on monthly members and fund growth projects rather than rent or payroll.

Check each program’s current terms and status before relying on it.

Is Round 2 still open? The official application page and program homepage were checked on November 11, 2026, and both showed Round 2 open with funds available. Intake is rolling until funds are allocated. This is a dated status check, not a guarantee that funding will remain available when you act. The final closing date is not confirmed here. Recheck the official application page before proceeding.^[30]

For NDC application questions, including addresses and documents, use promiseact@ndc-mn.org or telephone (651) 379-8102. State-level PROMISE grant questions can be directed to PromiseGrants.DEED@state.mn.us.^[31]

The eligibility checker below is a preliminary Grantaura aid, not an official decision by NDC or DEED. An eligible result points you toward the application, an unsure result toward an expert consultation, and an ineligible result toward other funding options where suitable ones exist. Use the program rules above as well, and contact NDC when an address, filing, ownership or special-case condition remains unclear.

Where Grantaura Can Reduce Application Mistakes

Sometimes the hard part isn’t finding the application. It’s staring at a tax return, a bank record and two versions of a business name, wondering whether they’ll be understood as belonging to the same applicant.

There is free official application support through NDC, including the administrator’s published assistance resources. You do not need paid third-party assistance simply to access the official process.

If you want a second set of eyes on those contradictions, a Grantaura Grant Assessment can review records and flag missing or conflicting evidence before you proceed. For more complex documentation or eligibility questions, you can book a free consultation with a Grantaura grant expert.

That support is separate from the official grant process. Grantaura does not control the award decision, promise approval or accelerate NDC’s processing. The primary business owner must still handle submission and personal identity verification.

Request a Grant Assessment

Your Grant Assessment fee is non-refundable, but the base assessment fee can be deducted once toward the same grant’s Full Application when you choose the optional checkbox at checkout.

Remember that grant funds cannot be used to pay an application preparer under the official rules. Any optional professional assistance must be budgeted separately.

And if the records already line up? You may not need a paid review at all. Go straight to the official application when the rules are clear; paid help is a choice, not a qualification condition. Starting from your own paperwork rather than from a service pitch is the point of this whole page.

Questions Applicants Ask About Round 2

Is Round 2 still accepting applications?

As of November 11, 2026, the official application page and program homepage showed Round 2 open with funds available. Intake is rolling until funds are allocated, so check the application page again before relying on availability.^[32]

Do I need all eight documents before I start?

Not necessarily. NDC uses a personalized document process, so follow the records requested for your application stage. The Grant Agreement Letter and Certificate of Grant Recipient belong to later agreement and recipient processing rather than automatically being initial-form requirements.^[33]

What if my business has no employees?

The 50% rule is not an automatic exclusion for a business with no employees. Answer the employee question as the official application presents it, and if none of the responses fits your situation, ask NDC how to answer before submitting.^[34]

A Note From Imran Ahmad

Hi, I’m Imran Ahmad, Founder/CEO of Grantaura.

Official Sources and Supporting References

1. Official NDC award chart: Award chart. Minnesota DEED grant information covering statutory award levels and eligible business operating uses: Official state program page. BACK to readingBACK
2. NDC eligibility rules and official map: Eligibility; Geographic map. BACK to readingBACK
3. NDC guidance on physical operating addresses, P.O. boxes and virtual mail services: Address FAQ; Eligibility. BACK to readingBACK
4. Official revenue, tax-filing and registration requirements: NDC eligibility; Startup eligibility FAQ; Minnesota DEED. BACK to readingBACK
5. NDC employee-location requirement: Official eligibility rules. BACK to readingBACK
6. Business-continuity and eligible-location requirements: NDC location-period FAQ; Eligibility; Minnesota DEED. BACK to readingBACK
7. Official guidance on applications involving multiple businesses and owners with 20% or greater ownership: Multiple-business FAQ; Minnesota DEED. BACK to readingBACK
8. Official guidance on Round 1 and Round 2 participation and on using the same applicant email address: Round participation FAQ; Round 2 application. BACK to readingBACK
9. Minnesota DEED PROMISE Act grant eligibility and exclusions: Official state program page. BACK to readingBACK
10. Home-business eligibility and document requirements: NDC eligibility; Round 2 documents; DEED annual report. BACK to readingBACK
11. Qualifying nonprofit earned-revenue pathways: NDC eligibility; Minnesota DEED; DEED annual report. BACK to readingBACK
12. Nonprofit federal return requirements: NDC eligibility; Round 2 document requirements. BACK to readingBACK
13. Official application stages and Stage 1 eligibility-notice timing: NDC grant process. BACK to readingBACK
14. Official NDC grant process guidance covering final-stage identity verification and the route by which approved funds reach the applicant’s bank account: NDC grant process. BACK to readingBACK
15. NDC guidance on application assistance and the owner’s submission responsibility: Official applicant-help FAQ; Grant process. BACK to readingBACK
16. Traditional bank and credit-union account requirement: NDC banking FAQ; Round 2 documents. BACK to readingBACK
17. NDC processing guidance for a complete application: Processing timeline FAQ. BACK to readingBACK
18. NDC Round 2 document instructions and stage-specific records: Official document requirements. BACK to readingBACK
19. Official preference factors and supporting evidence: NDC grant preference page. BACK to readingBACK
20. Official NDC grant process guidance on preference point values, the four named relief programs, geographic funding pools, processing order and the random tie-break: NDC grant process. BACK to readingBACK
21. NDC allowable and excluded grant uses: Grant use FAQ; Minnesota DEED; Application assistance FAQ. BACK to readingBACK
22. Official Round 2 recipient story: Studio Apparatus. BACK to readingBACK
23. Official Round 2 recipient story: Elpis Enterprises. BACK to readingBACK
24. Official Round 2 recipient story: Glam Luxe Hair Studio. BACK to readingBACK
25. Official Round 2 recipient story: Go Crazy Gaming. BACK to readingBACK
26. Minnesota DEED FY25 PROMISE Act Grant Program Annual Report, supporting NDC Round 1 totals: Official annual report. BACK to readingBACK
27. Minnesota House legislative report supporting NDC’s combined-round totals through March 2, 2026: Legislative report. BACK to readingBACK
28. Minnesota DEED FY25 annual report supporting all-partner Round 2 totals through March 5, 2026: Official annual report. BACK to readingBACK
29. Official PROMISE Act homepage, supporting its program-wide running total observed November 11, 2026: Official program homepage. BACK to readingBACK
30. Official Round 2 application and program homepage checked November 11, 2026 for rolling intake and reported funding availability: Application; Program homepage. BACK to readingBACK
31. NDC contact guidance: NDC contact page. State-level program and contact information: Minnesota DEED. BACK to readingBACK
32. Official Round 2 application and program homepage, checked November 11, 2026: Application; Program homepage. BACK to readingBACK
33. NDC Round 2 document and application-stage guidance: Document requirements; Grant process. BACK to readingBACK
34. NDC eligibility and application questions for businesses with no employees: Eligibility; Round 2 application. BACK to readingBACK