While Congress advances a rescue package to replenish the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loan advance fund, local small businesses who have been impacted by COVID-19 might also have additional financial resources available to them.
Last week, Montgomery County began accepting applications for the Public Health Emergency Grant Program, which will provide up to $75,000 in grant funds for certain small businesses and non-profits who employ a majority of their staffers and make a majority of their revenue in the county. According to the program’s FAQ page, applicants can qualify for the county support in addition to other state and federal resources that have been made available in the past six weeks.
Prince George’s County is also accepting applications for its COVID-19 Business Relief Fund, which will provide low-interest loans (and up to $10,000 in grant funding) to for-profit businesses based in the county who have also sought federal and state aid. The county has also published an FAQ page about the program’s eligibility requirements.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors has also announced a Small Business Recovery MicroLoan Fund, which will begin accepting applications on April 28. The recovery fund will offer up to $20,000 in zero-interest loans, repayable for as long as six years, for county-based businesses with 50 or fewer employees, who have been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 crisis.
Download Bulletin PDF