Second Round for State Grant Program for Small Businesses Impacted by COVID-19 Opens August 10

Second Round for State Grant Program for Small Businesses Impacted by COVID-19 Opens August 10

The second and final application window for the COVID-19 Relief Pennsylvania Statewide Small Business Assistance program will open at 9 a.m. on Aug. 10 and will remain open for 15 business days, officials say.  

The PA Wilds region is a priority investment area under the $225 million statewide program, which provides grants ranging from $5,000 to $50,000 to small businesses that have been economically impacted by COVID-19. The program is geared toward Main Street type businesses with 25 or fewer employees and annual gross revenue of $1M or less.  

PA Wilds Center CEO Ta Enos says the participation by so partners in the regional PA Wilds strategy is the reason small businesses here are targeted for investment in this statewide grant program. 

“Local, state and federal partners from the public and private sectors have made coordinated investments over the last 15 years to establish the PA Wilds as an outdoor recreation destination to help diversify our rural economy, inspire stewardship and improve quality of life,” Enos says. “Economically, that’s paid off in visible ways in terms of infrastructure improvements, record-setting visitor spending, and business startups and expansions in many of our communities over the last decade. Less visible but also critical is that this regional strategy is helping our region be more competitive within a variety of funding programs, and this is just one example of that. We want to thank the region’s county commissioners for their continued support of the PA Wilds strategy, and the Progress Fund for being a champion for the PA Wilds as a target investment area in this grant program.” 

Hard-hit sectors, including retail, food and hospitality, health and wellness, personal care businesses (such as salons), and child and adult day care, are a priority under the program. Women-owned businesses and businesses located in communities with official Main Streets programs and other state supported designations, including PA Wilds, are targeted for investment under the program.

Announcements on Round 1 applications are expected soon. Round 2 will close at 11:59 p.m. on Aug. 28.

WHAT IF I ALREADY APPLIED?

If you applied during the first application window you should receive notification of your application status by August 10. You do NOT need to reapply in the second round. Qualified applications will be automatically rolled over into the next funding round for consideration. 

I HAVE NOT APPLIED YET. DO I EVEN QUALIFY?

If you haven’t yet applied, get your applications in Round 2! In order to get funds to businesses in need as quickly as possible, the second application window will be the final opportunity to apply for the program. 

Have you been wondering if this grant is right for you? If your business is: 

  • Owned and operated by low and moderate-income people, or
  • Located in areas of need including areas with a population having incomes significantly below the median income level, high levels of poverty, higher than average unemployment rates, or significant population loss, and
  • One of the types of businesses that were most impacted by the economic shutdown and experienced the greatest revenue losses.

Then you are exactly who this grant program is looking to serve. Just remember that to be eligible for the COVID-19 Relief PA Statewide Small Business Assistance you must be physically located, certified to do business, and generate at least 51% of your revenues in Pennsylvania; have annual revenue of $1 million or less prior to the impact of COVID-19; and have 25 or fewer full-time equivalent employees prior to February 15, 2020.  

LEARN MORE & APPLY

The second round of this grant program will close at 11:59 p.m. on Aug. 28. 

The grant program is being administered through Pennsylvania’s network of Community Development Financial Institutions, or CDFIs. The Progress Fund is the CDFI serving the PA Wilds. A link to their application portal is available at https://www.progressfund.org/grants-for-small-businesses/.   

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