Bedford County Opens Second Round of Small Business Grants

On Oct. 16, the Bedford County Board of Commissioners opened the second round of CARES Small Business, Tourism, and Nonprofit Support Grant Program, to assist small businesses, local tourism, and nonprofits affected by COVID-19.

The program will be funded using federal CARES Act funds provided to the county by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania under the COVID-19 County Relief Block Grant (CRBG).

The primary purpose of the Program is to provide immediate relief to small businesses, local tourism, and nonprofits impacted by COVID-19.

Any previous applicants from the first round who were not funded due to incomplete grant requirements, may submit the additional information needed to potentially qualify for funding in round two. New applicants are encouraged to apply.

The commissioners office stated in a prepared statement: “We decided to issue a second round of CARES funding based on the voiced needs of the small business, tourism, and nonprofit organizations in Bedford County. We want to do everything we can. All entities who were impacted are encouraged to apply.”

The grants can be used to help cover business interruption losses including loss of fundraising revenues for eligible nonprofits. Preference will be given to those applicants that did not receive Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) or Economic Injury Disaster Loan Funds (EIDL).

To note, any tourist attraction, regardless of size, is eligible for funding under this program.

Application submission for the program will be open from Oct. 16, 2020, to Oct. 30, 2020, at 4:30 p.m. Applications must be submitted in an electronic format to Makayla Bollman, director of Human Resources at

mbollman@bedfordcountyhpa.org.

For detailed program eligibility requirements and specific information regarding the application process, including deadlines, those interested are asked to visit the Bedford County website at

https://bedfordcountypa.org/covid-19_funding_portal

The county has previously released a request for proposal to address portions of Bedford County that have been significantly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic due to lack of available broadband. Poor broadband infrastructure in rural areas has resulted in many individuals and families lacking the opportunity for online studies, teleworking, and telemedicine during stay-at-home orders.

Previous round

The Bedford County Board of Commissioners also announced on Oct. 16 the award recipients of its CARES Act Small Business, Tourism, and Nonprofit Support Grant program.

Bedford County’s share was distributed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania through the CRBG.

Recognizing the negative effects that COVID-19 has imposed on the local economy, the county commissioners stated that they “strongly desired” to do “everything possible” to support local businesses and non-profits. The commissioners also encouraged all business owners and non-profits affected by the pandemic to apply.

The grants are being specifically used to offset business interruption losses of eligible small businesses and qualified non-profits.

The recipients of the grant awards were required to demonstrate a revenue loss from 2019 to 2020 and certify that the entity incurred certain allowable expenditures.

These expenses included: rent, mortgage interest, utility bills, cable, internet, phone, spoilage, personal protective equipment, cleaning supplies, unemployment compensation, and costs associated with the preparations to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus.

The county is continuing to review non-profit and small business applications to determine any fundraising losses, expenditures, and may award funding to these organizations at a later date.

Sixty-seven small businesses were eligible for funding in the first round; and the total amount of the awards equals $632,532.98.

Awards were capped a maximum of $35,000. Of the awardees, 40 were small businesses with less than 100 employees, and the remaining 27 recipients were non-profit public charities or veteran organizations.

The Bedford County Board of Commissioners stated that they “express their sincere gratitude for the many difficult sacrifices made by business owners and non-profit leaders in our community; and encourages all its citizens to remain safe during this challenging season.