​The Champaign Economic Partnership (CEP) and Champaign  County Commissioners are announcing a 2nd round of CARES Act funds to Champaign County small businesses impacted by the Coronavirus pandemic.  Businesses could be awarded up to $10,000 if approved for the grant.  Businesses that have received approval from the 1st round of the CARES Act Grant administered by the CEP will not be eligible for the 2nd grant.

“Over 50 local small businesses applied for the 1st round of CARES Act funds and after discussion with the Champaign County Commissioners, we decided to offer another application period to assist other eligible businesses," CEP Economic Development Director Marcia Bailey said.

“Our local economy has been negatively impacted with the Coronavirus and our small businesses are some of the hardest hit,” said Bailey.  “These funds are an expense reimbursement grant and will help get the businesses through this difficult time."

To qualify for the grant program, businesses must:

• Be currently in operation, locally owned and physically located in Champaign County
• Have 50 or less employees as of January 2020
• Be current on all state, federal and local taxes
• Be in good standing with all applicable government regulations

Some examples of eligible reimbursable expenses include:

• Business mortgage or lease costs
• Business utilities, such as electric, gas, sewer, water, trash, business insurance etc.
• Materials and supplies related to interruption of your business caused by required closures
• Business costs related to compliance with Responsible RestartOhio.

Businesses that have received funding for expenses arising from the pandemic cannot submit the same expenses for reimbursement under the CARES Grant for Champaign County Small Businesses.

“We are so appreciative of our small businesses and although there is great uncertainty, Champaign County is hopeful that businesses receiving these grant funds will successfully persevere through the COVID-19 pandemic,” Bailey added.

Applications and grant guidelines are available at www.champaignworks.com/CARESGrantChampaignCounty beginning November 24, 2020. Application deadline is December 1, 2020 at 5:00 pm.   Due to the short application period, we recommend you apply as soon as possible.  In order to assist you, please send your questions to info@cepohio.com.

​Businesses are also encouraged to visit https://businesshelp.ohio.gov for additional assistance.  Governor DeWine announced CARES Act funding through the State of Ohio for small business and others that have been impacted financially by the pandemic.

​Recently, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and Lt. Governor Jon Husted announced that the administration, in partnership with the General Assembly, developed a package of more than $419.5 million CARES Act funding to help Ohioans.
 
The package includes $125 million in CARES Act funding to provide grants to small businesses with no more than 25 employees. The grant funding will help businesses pay for a variety of expenses, including mortgage or rent payments; utility payments; salaries, wages, or compensation for employees and contractors; business supplies or equipment; and other costs.
 
Each business that meets the criteria and submits a complete application will be eligible for a grant of $10,000 in accordance with the following guidelines:

• $44 million of the grant funds will be set aside to ensure businesses in all 88 counties receive funding. 50 businesses will be funded in each county.
• As applications are approved on a first-come, first-served basis, grants will be awarded first from each county’s allocation.
• When a county’s allocation is depleted, grants will be awarded from the remainder of funding on a first-come, first-served basis regardless of the business’ location in Ohio.
• If Development does not receive eligible applications sufficient to award all 50 grants to businesses in each county within the first 21 days after the application is opened, the remaining funds allocated to that county will be available to businesses regardless of their location in Ohio.

​Applications and grant guidelines are available here: 
www.champaignworks.com/CARESGrantChampaignCounty 

Application deadline is November 13, 2020 at 5:00 pm. Due to the short application period, we recommend you apply as soon as possible.  In order to assist you, please send your questions to info@cepohio.com.
​
Businesses are also encouraged to visit https://businesshelp.ohio.gov for additional assistance.  Governor DeWine announced CARES Act funding through the State of Ohio for small business and others that have been impacted financially by the pandemic

​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 info@cepohio.com, 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 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.

Below is the information presented in a webinar by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on The Paycheck Protection Program and Other CARES Act Assistance for Businesses.

#WeAreAllinThisTogether
Thank you to all our local businesses for completing our Business Impact Survey.  This information (Business Impact Survey Results) will be used to begin gathering the various resources that you will need to reopen and recover.  We certainly appreciate all of our businesses and what you bring to our community.  We will do whatever we can to assist you now and into the future.

It is recommended you contact your local banks/financial institutions first for potential loan assistance.  (Click here for a complete list of area SBA lenders.) They have been able to approve some applications and have others that are pending approval. 

There are a variety of programs that you may qualify for to get you back to recovery.  (These are also listed on this COVID-19 Relief PowerPoint presentation.) And explained further on this Dayton Development Coalition SBA webinar link: https://dialpad.com/shared/call/WfzXD4cBYdVcrHDjNCqP92qw47MfUNMPpzO6v7r4w2Mf

1. PPP Payroll Protection Plan deadline to file is 6/30/2020.  This loan could be completely forgiven if the requirements are met as stated on the loan application
2. EIDL Economic Injury Disaster Loan this could be a $10K loan advance due to the coronavirus  
3. Debt Relief Program if you have a current SBA 7(a) loan or will have one by Sept. 27, 2020.  The SBA will pay principal and interest for 6 months to help you as you recover
4. Express Bridge Loan Program up to $25K. This loan would be a gap funding type loan and once you receive the EIDL loan you pay the Express loan back using the EIDL funds.

Remember, another local source of information and assistance in completing these applications is the Springfield SBA which serves Champaign County:  www.springfieldsbdc.com

On April 7th, Governor DeWine announced the creation of the Office of Small Business Relief to identify ways to provide support to Ohio's small businesses. This office will be housed within the Ohio Development Services Agency. 
 
The Office of Small Business Relief (OSBR) is focused on identifying and providing direct support to the state's nearly 950,000 small businesses to help during the current public health crisis and to position them for a span rebound.  
https://businesshelp.ohio.gov
 
Additional tips for businesses from our local lending institutions:

• Make certain your loan application is completed and accurate
• Make certain you have the documentation that is required for the application
• Check with your accountant for the various records that you will need when applying

The U.S. Treasury Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Loans FAQs were released last evening, 4-6-2020. These answer quite a few of the questions that many of us have had in regard to the PPP loans and expands on some of the FAQs relating to businesses with more than 500 employees.
 
Please note that this applies to non-profits as well, but only those registered as 501(c)3.