To our Business Clients,
We wanted to make you aware of a new program that the State of Ohio is rolling out early next week that is designed to provide additional financial assistance for business that have been impacted by COVID-19. The Small Business Relief Grant will provide $10,000 grants to eligible small businesses to help them through the current crisis. Detailed information on this grant can be found at https://businesshelp.ohio.gov/small-business-relief-grant.html.
A quick summary of some of the provisions of this program:
- Eligible businesses must have between 1 and 25 W-2 employees and earn at least 90% of their revenues from activities based in Ohio. Businesses that have no employees that receive a W-2 or more than 25 W-2 employees are not eligible.
- The grant can be used to reimburse business for COVID related expenses incurred between March 22, 2020 and the application date. COVID related expenses may include the cost of PPE, Mortgage and Utility Payments, Employee Salaries and Wages
- Business can begin applying for the grant on Monday, November 2nd beginning at 10:00 a.m. Applications must be submitted electronically through the businesshelp.ohio.gov website and grants will be awarded on a first come first served basis. Businesses will need to know their OH/ID to login and complete an application. A list of other information needed to complete the grant application can be accessed at https://businesshelp.ohio.gov/small-business-relief-grant.html under Terms and Conditions for Participation, Section IV: Application Process.
Because these grants will be awarded on a first come first served basis and we expect the funds to be exhausted relatively quickly, we cannot assist our clients with applying for this grant. However, if you wish to apply for this grant on your own, we advise you to do the following:
- Review the information needed to apply for the grant. Most of the information required is general in nature, however the applicant will need to provide documentation verifying that the applicant had at least 1 and no more than 25 Ohio employees along with documentation of business costs incurred during the 60 days prior to completing the application
- Make sure you know your OH ID Username and Password login information. This is the information that you use to login to the Ohio Business Gateway. The grant applications will not be filed through the Ohio Business Gateway (see below), but you will use the same Username and Password to access the grant application website. If you do not know your OH ID Username and Password, you can use the Forgot User ID or Password link to update this information
- Be prepared to login to the grant website at businesshelp.ohio.gov as soon as it opens at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, November 2nd. Have all the information needed to complete the grant application readily available to you at this time. As we said, we believe these funds will be used up quickly, so we advise you to submit your application as soon as possible when the website opens.
If you have further questions on the Ohio Small Business Relief Grant or the application process, please do not hesitate to give us a call.