Click below for sector specific operating requirements for businesses to open as part of Responsible RestartOhio. There are sector requirements for:

• Manufacturing, Distribution & Construction
• Consumer, Retail & Services
• General Office Environments
• Healthcare & Hospitals​

This panel discussion will be applicable to all industries as we discuss workforce pipeline and recovery strategies from both a state and regional level.

Matthew Longfellow, ApprenticeOhio , will discuss the proven value of a Registered Apprenticeship Program.

Dillon Charney, OhioMeansJobs Clark County , will discuss the myriad of services available, including hiring assistance and funding opportunities.

Lesli Beavers, Clark State Community College , will discuss both state level resources, including TechCred and other applicable resources from the Lt. Governor's Office of Workforce Transformation and training best practices as businesses begin to recover in the wake of COVID-19.

Please join us for this discussion so that we can ensure those displaced from COVID-19 have the opportunity to reenter the workforce with the proper training and opportunity to fill your workforce needs. ​

Governor DeWine is moving forward with the reopening of businesses to help Ohioans get back to work while keeping everyone safe. This will be a gradual process. Here is what we know so far:

• May 1, 2020: medical procedures and operations will be able to continue again so long as the health procedures do not require overnight stay in a hospital.
• May 1, 2020: dentists and veterinarians will be able to be open.
• May 4, 2020: manufacturing, distribution, and construction will be able to operate.
• May 4, 2020: general offices can open.
• May 12, 2020: consumer retail and services can open.

 
A Stay at Home Order will continue, and there is a new protocol which must be followed by all businesses upon reopening.
 
Read more about these things at www.coronavirus.ohio.gov
Sector Specific Operating Requirements: https://coronavirus.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/covid-19/responsible-restart-ohio/sector-specific-operating-requirements/sector-specific-operating-requirements

​Small businesses in Champaign County have a new source of financial assistance to help them reopen and recover from the pandemic -- the COVID-19 Champaign County Small Business Emergency Grant Fund.
 
The Champaign Economic Partnership (CEP) established the local grant program with the support of the Champaign County Board of Commissioners, which allocated a portion of local tax dollars generated for economic development through conveyance fees collected on Champaign County real estate sales.
 
“We are very thankful to the Champaign County Commissioners for funding this important initiative,” Kyle Hall, president of the CEP Board of Trustees, said. “The COVID-19 grant fund can really make a difference in our county. It will help small businesses bridge the gap in revenue during the shutdown and help them meet safety requirements for reopening, so that consumers will return to them with confidence.”
 
Through 5 p.m. May 15, qualifying local businesses may complete and submit a simple application for $500 to $2,500 in grant funds, at www.champaignworks.com/PayItForwardGrant.  Businesses may submit their applications directly from the website. But if they prefer, they may print out the application form, complete it, and drop it in the Champaign Economic Partnership mailbox (next to the CEP office door, inside the ATM lobby of Security National Bank, 3 Monument Square, Urbana), or email their completed, scanned application to the CEP at [email protected], by the 5 p.m. May 15 deadline.
 
“The commissioners want to support the health and vitality of the Champaign County business community during the pandemic,” said County Commissioner Steve Hess, who serves on the CEP Board of Trustees. “Through this grant fund we want to help our local businesses get through this crisis by supplementing the support they’re getting from the state and federal government.”
 
To be eligible for the grant program, commercial or retail businesses must have a storefront in Champaign County (cannot be home-based or nonprofit), have fewer than 50 employees, be current on local, state and federal obligations such as taxes and assessments, been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and, if a franchise, have no more than two storefronts in the county and not be corporate owned.
 
CEP Director Marcia Bailey said the grants may be used for operating expenses such as rent, utilities, payroll, and the cost of supplies and modifications needed to comply with safety requirements for reopening. Grant money cannot be used for taxes or other assessments. Grant recipients will be required to report to the grant committee how they spent the money.
 
“Our grant committee desires to make this a self-perpetuating fund so that money will be available to support future economic sustainability in our community,” Bailey said. “Through the Pay It Forward provision of the program, we will encourage grant recipients to contribute financially to the Champaign County Small Business Grant Fund once their businesses are back on their feet – in an amount equal to or greater than their grant.”
 
She added, “Our small businesses are essential to the vitality of Champaign County. We want to do what we can to help get them back on track, to continue providing jobs and valuable products and services that make our county a better place to live and work.” 
 
For grant guidelines and the application, visit www.champaignworks.com/PayItForwardGrant. 

Governor DeWine is moving forward with the reopening of businesses to help Ohioans get back to work while keeping everyone safe. This will be a gradual process. Here is what we know so far:

• May 1, 2020: medical procedures and operations will be able to continue again so long as the health procedures do not require overnight stay in a hospital.
• May 1, 2020: dentists and veterinarians will be able to be open.
• May 4, 2020: manufacturing, distribution, and construction will be able to operate.
• May 4, 2020: general offices can open.
• May 12, 2020: consumer retail and services can open.

A Stay at Home Order will continue, and there is a new protocol which must be followed by all businesses upon reopening. Read more about these things at coronavirus.ohio.gov

Half of Clark State’s funds will go directly to students whose education has been impacted by COVID-19, according to a statement from the college. The other half of the funds will go to Clark State in order to provide financial relief related to coronavirus related expenses.
​

Governor DeWine announced beginning May 1, 2020, Ohio will begin a phased-in reopening of the state economy.

Below are some resources that the Champaign County Chamber of Commerce shared this week.

• The Ohio Department of Health released a graphic outlining PPE needed for healthcare workers based on exposure and patient symptoms, a COVID-19 Checklist for Safe Food Handling, COVID-19 Modeling 101, Information and Checklist on COVID-19 Antibody Test Kits, Checklist for Long-term Care Facilities, and a Director's Order to release protected health information to Ohio's first responders.
  
  
• To extend a helping hand to small businesses suffering from the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation – in partnership with Vistaprint and a coalition of supporting companies, foundations, and philanthropic donors – is working to provide financial relief through the Save Small Business Fund.  This fund is a key pillar of the U.S. Chamber’s Save Small Business Initiative. 
  
  The Fund is providing $5,000 in short-term relief to employers across the United States, including chambers of commerce. These one-time supplemental cash grants are for businesses that have between 3 and 20 employees and operate in an economically vulnerable community (Eligibility is by zip code-Every zip code in Champaign County qualifies except 43084). The grant application will go live on Monday, April 20 at 3:00 PM ET / 2:00 PM CT.  To learn more about the Save Small Business Fund and to apply for a grant, visit savesmallbusiness.com.
  
  
• Path Forward, a new program from the U.S. Chamber Foundation, is designed to help business and community leaders find the answers they need to develop a responsible reopening strategy. When will it be safe to reopen? How do we protect employees and customers from the coronavirus? Where will my staff get COVID-19 tests? Masks? Gloves? Who’s going to pay for all this? Each episode features conversations between the U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Suzanne Clark and experts with practical recommendations for businesses of all sizes.
  
  Path Forward events take place at 3 p.m. EST every Monday and Thursday. Register Now. If you can’t attend, you’ll find a recording of each episode on the Foundation’s website, Facebook page, and YouTube channel. 
  
  
• The Ohio Chamber of Commerce held a webinar on Paid Leave under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act and its impact on employers. Watch the recording and find other webinars here.

The new rules have been clarified for self-employed individuals, self-proprietors and partnerships to be eligible to apply for the PPP Federal Loan. Click below to download and read the new Eligibility Criteria and Requirements.

Below are a trio of helpful PowerPoint presentations. The presentations are used by the Springfield Small Business Development Center, which serves Champaign County, to help figure out available loans and grants for small businesses.