Any business that has received a similar grant from the county will not be eligible during this latest round of grant funding, according to a news release from the Champaign Economic Partnership.
“Over 50 local small businesses applied for the first round of CARES Act funds and after discussion with the Champaign County Commissioners, we decided to offer another application period to assist other eligible businesses,” said Champaign Economic Partnership Director Marcia Bailey.
Bailey said that the first round of these grants started in late October. The goal is to reimburse business expenses that have been incurred since March as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
During the first round more than $400,000 in those grants were approved by county officials, Bailey added.
“Our local economy has been negatively impacted with the Coronavirus and our small businesses are some of the hardest hit,” Bailey added. “These funds are an expense reimbursement grant and will help get the businesses through this difficult time.”
She said that they do not have a specific number of money allocated for the second round but want to continue to provide up to $10,000 to cover eligible expenses for county businesses.
In order to qualify, businesses must be in operation, locally owned and have a physical location in Champaign County. They must also have no more than 50 employees as of January 2020.
Funding provided to businesses awarded the grant can go towards mortgage or lease costs, utilities and other costs associated with the pandemic.
However, businesses that have already received funding for expenses caused by the pandemic cannot submit the same expenses for reimbursement under the CARES Grant for Champaign County Small Businesses. That applies to businesses that have received funds not related to the Champaign County grant program.
The application period started this week and will end on Tuesday, in which the deadline is 5 p.m.
Questions can be emailed to info@cepohio.com or those interested can visit www.champaignworks.com/CARESGrantChampaignCounty to apply.
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