LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. — Starting Monday morning, some small businesses in Lancaster County are eligible to apply for a grant to help with the costs accrued because of COVID-19.
The Lancaster Chamber and the Economic Development Company of Lancaster County collaborated to create the Lancaster County Economic Recovery Plan. This Plan provided Lancaster’s business community with a road map to begin the process of economic recovery.
Business owners are encouraged to visit RecoveryLancaster.com where they should click the funding tab. Scroll until the Lancaster County Small Business Recovery & Sustainability Fund section.
At Annie Baileys Irish Pub in Lancaster, owner Josh Funk is hopeful to be eligible for a grant during the next round so that the business can pave its way forward in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Hopefully, with the grant program to ensure that like we have partitions back here and to ensure we can actually add the seats we need to get back to where we were pre-COVID-19,” said Funk.
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Funk says to describe the past two and a half months as overwhelming would be an understatement. The restaurant received some help from the county in the form of personal protective equipment or PPE. It received nearly 4,000 masks, face shields, and thermometers to benefit staff and even some customers.
“A lot of really great stuff... and if, you know, guests shows up and forget a mask, we don't want to turn them away,” explained Funk. “So it's been a really great resource because that has really been a tough thing to get for local businesses.”
That tough get was made available for all businesses with 100 employees or fewer through federal CARES Act funding which the county received earlier this year. Tony Gorick with the Lancaster Chamber of Commerce says the free PPE kits shouldn’t run out anytime soon.
The county also has another $25 million dollars in CARES act funding to give businesses in the form of grants. It's meant to help with payroll costs, rent, and other operating expenses or simply to help those businesses retrofit to meet the new public health requirements.
Currently, only those which had twenty or fewer employees by March 1, 2020 are eligible. Gorick says that could change in the future.
“We heard a lot that they [businesses] fell ill equipped with what they should be doing from a safety and health perspective - that's where the PPE comes in, and then obviously, the very real truth was just funding and and money to be able to keep their businesses afloat,” explained Gorick. “We are so thankful we got this money because once we got these funds we were able to kind of hit the ground running."
There will be multiple rounds of grants distributed. For this first round, the application window closes next Friday night at 7.
Eligible businesses can apply on RecoveryLancaster.com — where is an extensive FAQ section and other resources listed in English and Spanish. There is also a section dedicated to other grant funding and PPE reimbursement programs.
According to Gorick, phase I of grant distribution will inject $10 million into businesses for working capital and retrofit needs. He says grants are not on a first-come, first serve application process. The grants will be based on a variety of criteria.
There is also a telephone service if people have questions about the process. Call 717-239-6961 between 8am-5pm Monday-Friday, or leave a message and someone from the grant team will get back to you.
Gorick stressed that businesses should try to help the county stretch the $10 million to help as many Lancaster County small businesses as possible by only requesting funding truly needed to help the business recover and grow.
Eligible Applicants:
-20 total employees by headcount or less on March 1, 2020;
-Positive net profit or surplus (including depreciation) reported on last submitted federal tax return;
-Passive businesses such as commercial and residential landlords are ineligible;
-Business must be compliant with all federal, state and local laws;
Funding Uses & Purposes:
-Helping entities secure access to funds for working capital including payroll, rent, mortgage, supplies, and other operating expenses needed to help the entity serve or produce goods relevant in today’s economy;
-Helping entities retrofit their facilities to meet public health requirements;
Amounts:
-The lesser of $35,000 or three months of average monthly operating costs based on 25% of the total business operating expenses reported on the most recently filed federal tax return;
-The applicant will choose how to best utilize the funding across working capital needs and facility retrofit improvements for public health requirements. All retrofit funding needs occurring after April 15, 2020 will be eligible.