Virginia announces expansion of grants for small businesses, nonprofits

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam announced recently that Rebuild VA, the $70 million economic recovery fund launched in August, is expanding its eligibility criteria to allow more small businesses to apply.

Businesses that received funding from the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and supply chain partners of businesses whose normal operations were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic are now eligible to receive grants of up to $10,000.

Eligible businesses and nonprofits must demonstrate that their normal operations were limited by Northam’s Executive Orders Fifty-Three or Fifty-Five, or that they were directly impacted by the closure of such businesses.

Businesses must also certify that they have not received grant or loan dollars from federal, state, or local CARES Act funded programs, or if they have received CARES Act funding, that they will use the Rebuild VA grant only for recurring expenses. These businesses must also certify that the Rebuild VA funds will not be used to cover the same expenses as other CARES Act funds.

Rebuild VA still requires that businesses and nonprofit organizations must be in good standing, have annual gross revenues of no more than $1.5 million, and have no more than 25 employees. Rebuild VA funding may be utilized for the following eligible expenses:  payroll support, including paid sick, medical, or family leave, and costs related to the continuation of group health care benefits during those periods of leave; employee salaries; mortgage payments, rent, and utilities; principal and interest payments for any business loans from national or state-chartered banking, savings and loan institutions, or credit unions, that were incurred before or during the emergency; and eligible personal protective equipment, cleaning and disinfecting materials, or other working capital needed to address COVID-19 response.

Rebuild VA, which is administered by the Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity, launched on August 10. SBSD and its program partners, the Department of Housing and Community Development, the Virginia Tourism Corporation, and the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, made the decision to expand eligibility criteria after analysis of eligible and ineligible applications received within the first 30 days of the launch.

For details, including expanded eligibility criteria, covered expenses, and how to submit an application, visit governor.virginia.gov/RebuildVA.