Some businesses and nonprofit organizations negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic could receive relief following action last week by the Meeker County Board.
The board approved allocating $850,000 of federal CARES Act funding to assist small businesses and nonprofits that have been hurt by the pandemic.
Individual businesses and nonprofits will be eligible to apply for up to $50,000 in grants through the program. The needs-based program is for businesses that experienced a gross revenue or profit reduction of at least 25 percent between March 1 and July 31 due to COVID-19. Eligible businesses must have 50 or fewer full-time employees. All eligible applicants must have a physical, commercial location, whether owned or leased, that is located in Meeker County (including the entire city of Eden Valley).
The funds, if awarded, will not need to be paid back and may be used for expenses such as personal protective equipment, rent, mortgage, insurance, utilities, technology changes incurred for remote employees, and more. All applicants must be current on real estate taxes, as this is an ineligible expense.
The funds and data supplied for CARES Act funding will be governed by Minnesota Statute 13.591.
Program guidelines and applications will be available on the Meeker County EDA’s website by Aug. 12 at https://meekercodevcorp.com. Questions regarding the application can be directed to Lisa Graphenteen at lisa@dsi-services.com or (507) 227-5402.
