Some small business owners in Jefferson County could be in line for some big relief.
The Jefferson County Economic Development Corporation (EDC) is now taking applications for the Community Development Block Grant Coronavirus Response Microenterprise Business Grant program, which awards up to $10,000 in relief for owners of low- and moderate-income businesses with five employees or fewer, including the owner.
Todd Tracy, executive director of the EDC, said the grant money will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis.
“We’re hoping to fund 70 or 75 such businesses,” he said.
The purpose of the program is to help small businesses in Jefferson County that are coping with the
COVID-19 crisis, Tracy said.
The program is part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES) passed by Congress in 2020.
Tracy said the guidelines for the program, which is overseen by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, spell out precisely which businesses qualify.
“No more than five employees, full- or part-time, and at least one of them has to own the business,” he said. “Franchises only qualify if they are owned by the individual.”
In addition, the business owner’s family income must be at or below HUD’s guidelines as low- to moderate-income.
In Jefferson County, a single person’s income qualifies if it is $47,550 or below; the threshold is $67,900 for a four-person family.
If the business owner’s income does not quality, the business can still receive assistance if it can document that 51 percent of the employees have an annual income at or below $47,550.
Nonprofit organizations are not eligible for assistance under the program, nor are enterprises that have gone out of business since the pandemic started.
Grants, Tracy said, can be used for only three purposes – general business costs, COVID-19 compliance or adaptation costs and technical assistance.
General business costs include rent, utilities, payroll, increase in insurance premiums, inventory and supplies.
COVID-19 compliance or adaptation costs include materials or equipment used to assist with social distancing protocols.
Technical assistance includes professional advice to help recover losses or to comply with pandemic guidelines.
Costs reimbursed by other federal stimulus money, including previous CARES Act awards and the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program do not qualify, but businesses that received such assistance may apply for additional help through this program, Tracy said.
He said the EDC, which helped process applications for businesses and nonprofits as the county was distributing its share of CARES Act money, learned a lot from that experience.
“This time around, we’ve streamlined the application process,” he said. “We know the questions business owners will ask, and I think we’ve answered a lot of them in the information on our website. I think we’ve made the process a lot easier.”
Tracy said a couple of applications already have been filed.
For information, go to the EDC’s website at jeffcountymo.org.
Links also are available through the county government website,
The EDC also may be reached at 636-797-5336 during business hours.