BELMONT — Small businesses in Allegany County have until April 14 to apply for part of a $1 million aid program.
Allegany County will provide small business grants thanks to a $1 million allocation through the New York State Office of Community Renewal, the Allegany County Industrial Development Agency reported, with grants for up to $75,000 per applicant business.
The original deadline was Feb. 17. The ACIDA board has approved 10 awardees and is still reviewing several more, but additional funds are available and the deadline has been extended. Awardees will be announced when applicants agree to the grant award.
The grants are for county businesses with 25 or fewer employees and can be used for a variety of purposes to help small businesses mitigate the negative impacts of the pandemic on their business operations.
Eligible uses of funds include grants to support increased payroll costs to safely and properly staff the business; grants to purchase furnishings, fixtures, equipment, and softs costs related to outdoor dining and safely socially distant workplaces; grants to fund working capital costs such as inventory, supplies, equipment, advertising and marketing, and soft costs that allow a business to restart or improve operations that were slowed or ceased by the pandemic; and grants to purchase equipment such as PPE, touchless point of sale, and air filtration that directly make a business safer to operate and more resilient to future occurrences of the pandemic.
Grants may not be used for construction and a 20% cash match is required.
Applicants with fewer than five employees may qualify if they are considered low or moderate income. All other applicants must create at least one job that is available to low- and moderate-income individuals.
Funding comes through the federal CARES Act of 2022 and is disbursed through the Community Development Block Grant program. The allocation to the county was announced in December, and the local application process began in January.
For more information and the grant application contact Dr. Craig Clark, Allegany County Industrial Development Agency executive director, at craig.clark@alleganyco.gov or (607) 968-0214.
