$125 million of funding received by the State of Ohio from the federal CARES Act has been designated for the State’s Small Business Relief Grant program.
The Ohio Development Services Agency will administer the program which will provide $10,000 grants to small businesses across the state that have been negatively impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.
Eligibility:
- The business must be a for-profit entity with no more than 25 total or full-time equivalent Ohio employees as of Jan. 1, 2020.
- The applicant business has a physical location in Ohio and earns at least 90% of annual revenue from activities based in Ohio.
- The business must have been in continuous operation since Jan. 1, 2020, except for interruptions required by COVID-19 public health orders and have the ability to continue operations as a going concern.
What grant dollars can be used for:
- Personal protective equipment to protect employees, customers, or clients from COVID-19
- Measures taken to protect employees, customers, or clients from COVID-19
- Mortgage or rent or utility payments for business premises (personal residences explicitly excluded)
- Business supplies or equipment
- Salaries, wages, or compensation paid to contractors or employees, including an employer’s share of health insurance costs
Be ready Monday morning at 10 am. Be patient and prepared to spend up to a few hours going through the application process. Find out more about the process and how funds will be rewarded here.
Bar & Restaurant Assistance Fund
Applications for the Bar and Restaurant Assistance Fund also open on November 2. The assistance fund will provide $2,500 payments to on-premise liquor permit holders to help them through the financial difficulties experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic. An additional $38.7 million of CARES Act funding has been designated for the program.
Eligible Businesses
The Ohio Department of Commerce Division of Liquor Control has more than 15,000 permit holders that qualify for the assistance fund. This applies to roughly 30 permit types, including bars, restaurants, breweries, distilleries, wineries, casinos and private clubs.
Step one: Create an OH|ID (if you don’t already have one that you can log into) here: https://ohid.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/ohid/home
Step two: Gather your documents! (See above)
Step three: Be ready Monday Morning (11-2-2020), and go here for application: businesshelp.ohio.gov |