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Businesses receiving financial awards (facilitated or disbursed)
Help businesses start, operate, and expand in New York City. — Ensure that businesses and entrepreneurs have easy access to a variety of high quality support services.
The FY22 peak of 10,627 businesses receiving financial awards was driven by pandemic-era relief, including a $100 million NYC COVID Resilience Grant that alone served about 10,000 small businesses. SBS's own reporting says award recipients fell to "pre-pandemic levels" once those emergency grant and loan programs concluded, with a further decline after FY24 tied to reduced low-interest lending capital as federal recovery funds expired.
Researched July 16, 2026 — NYC Department of Small Business Services, Fiscal 2023 Mayor's Management Report, NYC Department of Small Business Services, Fiscal 2025 Mayor's Management Report
* Year to date — this fiscal year isn't complete, so it's not compared against prior years in the target/trend status above.
View as table
| Fiscal year | Actual | Target |
|---|---|---|
| FY22 | 10,627 businesses | 570 businesses |
| FY23 | 1,232 businesses | 570 businesses |
| FY24 | 610 businesses | 570 businesses |
| FY25 | 488 businesses | 400 businesses |
| FY26 (YTD) | Not available | 400 businesses |
Why this is tracked
The Department of Small Business Services provides free courses, legal assistance, financing connections, and help navigating government requirements to small business owners across the five boroughs through its NYC Business Solutions centers. The goal is to lower the practical barriers, paperwork, permitting, access to capital, that can otherwise keep entrepreneurs from starting a business or force existing ones to close, particularly in neighborhoods with less access to traditional business support.
NYC SBS - Businesses, NYPL - NYC SBS Small Business Services
Source: Division of Business Services (DBS) — via NYC Open Data: Mayor's Management Report, Agency Performance Indicators
Coverage shown: FY22–FY26, reported pmmr/mmr.
Definition: This indicator will count the number of unique businesses served by DBS programs disbursing or facilitating financial awards. Awards include grants and debt capital (through third party lenders).