Small businesses that experienced economic hardship due to the pandemic may be eligible for financial help through Cumberland County’s Small Business Economic Assistance Program.
The program is funded through Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds, under the American Rescue Plan Act.
Businesses with no more than 250 employees that meet program requirements and that can demonstrate economic hardship due to the pandemic may apply for up to $50,000 in financial assistance, the county said in a news release.
Small business owners interested in applying for funding may participate in a webinar at 7 p.m. Tuesday to find out more about the program.
Business owners should register at gotowebinar.com. Those who register will receive an email confirmation with information about joining the webinar.
The application is available online at cumberlandcountync.gov/ARP under the Small Business tab. Hard copies of the application are available at all eight Cumberland County Public Library locations, the release said.
As part of the American Rescue Plan Act, Cumberland County was awarded $65.2 million in Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds. The Board of Commissioners approved allocating $3.5 million to establish a Small Business Economic Assistance Program, the release said.
Eligible businesses must have been in operation on or before March 3, 2021, and must still be in operation.
Help for nonprofits
The commissioners also approved allocating $3.5 million for nonprofit organizations to help with pandemic recovery efforts.
The county is seeking proposals from nonprofits for projects that will help with recovery efforts in the community. The county is soliciting requests for this one-time funding through a formal competitive Request for Proposal process.
The Request for Proposal is posted online at cumberlandcountync.gov/ARP.
Submissions are due Feb. 28 at 4:30 p.m.
Nonprofits must identify a health or economic harm resulting from or exacerbated by the pandemic and explain how the funding would address that harm; the population served; the proposed impact of the project and how the effort would help build toward a just, equitable and sustainable COVID-19 recovery, the release states.
