MontcoStrong grants second round opens

NORRISTOWN » Applications will be accepted today for a second round of funding under the MontcoStrong Small Business Grants Program.

Businesses interested in applying for one of the grants will have a fairly short period of time to complete the application, however — about eight hours. Applications will be accepted beginning at 10 a.m. through about 6 p.m. today, according to county officials.

The second round of funding, announced last week, includes $5 million to provide grants to help small businesses impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.

Eligible applicants may apply for a grant to cover the following costs: accounts payable, including utilities, vendors, suppliers and working capital expenses; rent/mortgage payments; and debt service payments on loans and credit cards (not to exceed more than 25% of total grant award). The covered time period for the expenses is May 1 through Sept. 30.

To be eligible, a business must be a for profit entity with a physical location in Montgomery County that was in operation on or before March 23, has experienced disruption due to the COVID-19 global pandemic, has reported gross revenues not greater than $10 million on its last signed and filed federal tax return.

In addition, applicants can have no more than 30 full-and part-time employees as of March 23, and employ no more than 30 full-time and part-time employees as of the application date, according to information on the program’s website.

Applicants in round one that did not receive a grant must reapply in round two. Businesses that received a grant in round one are ineligible. In addition, 501c3, 501c4, and 501c6 entities are not eligible.

Funding for the program is coming from two sources, according to Montgomery County Commissioners Vice Chairman Ken Lawrence Jr., who said $250,000 is being provided by the Delaware Valley Regional Economic Development Fund. The remainder is coming from federal CARES Act dollars that have been

awarded to Montgomery County, specifically for COVID-19.

“We know people are struggling and hurting, so we are doing everything we can to help until we can get back open again,” Lawrence said.

In the first round of the MontcoStrong Small Business Grants Program, 1,520 applications totaling $33.7 million in grant requests were received. The first round had $1 million available, with a maximum grant award of $25,000. Forty-three grants totaling $997,443.15 were awarded in round one.

There have been some updates to the program for round two. Among the changes is a tiered grant

award system based on gross revenue. Depending on revenue, a business will be eligible for grants ranging from $9,000 for applicants with not more than $1 million in gross revenue as reported on their most recent federal taxes up to $20,000 for eligible applicants with more than $6 million and not more than $10 million in gross revenue as reported on their most recently signed and filed federal taxes.

The application will be available once the application window opens.

The program is being administered in partnership with the Montgomery County Commerce Department and the Redevelopment Authority of Montgomery County.