Indian River County Adds $1.5 Million in Additional Funds to Support the Small Business Grant Program
Vero Beach, FL – The Indian River County Board of County Commissioners approved $1.5 million in additional federal CARES Act funding to support local businesses that have been negatively impacted by COVID-19 through its Small Business Recovery Grant Program. The Commission also approved increasing the grant program award amount from $5,000 to $10,000 per business. Businesses who previously received $5,000 in funding through this program will also now be eligible to receive an additional $5,000 for a total of $10,000. The County will be in contact with prior awardees to receive additional funding.
“The Board of County Commissioners is pleased to provide this necessary funding to help support our local businesses and industries who were adversely impacted by this pandemic,” said Indian River County Board Commissioner, Peter O’Bryan. “This year has been a challenging one for our business community which is why we have expanded our COVID-19 Small Business Recovery Grant Program. I urge all eligible businesses to apply so they can continue to succeed here in Indian River County.”
“We thank the County Commissioners for approving additional funding for the Small Business Recovery Grant program, including an increased award amount,” adds Helene Caseltine, Economic Development Director at the Indian River County Chamber of Commerce. “We are working closely with local business owners to help them with the application process, so I know they are very appreciative, too.”
“The Florida SBDC is honored and proud to provide our TEAM’s support for the Indian River County Small Business Grant Program,” said Tom Kindred, Regional Director Florida SBDC at IRSC. “While small business owners are a resilient group, this funding provided by the Indian River County Commission will go a long way in helping them survive.”
For-profit, locally-owned small businesses are eligible to apply, especially those that were required to close or severely limit their business operations as a result of the pandemic. This includes hospitality businesses, hair and nail salons, fitness centers, specialty retail and those serving special events. Last week, the Board also approved adding small family farms and non-medical aesthetic services such as tattoo parlors. Additional information on eligibility is available HERE.
Eligible businesses must have 25 or fewer employees, including the owner, and be based and operating in, Indian River County. Funds may be used for business expenses incurred between 3/1/2020 through 9/30/2021. Funds may not be used for the exact same expense that was paid by other federal programs.
The County will continue to partner with the Florida Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at Indian River State College and the Indian River County Chamber of Commerce to process the grant applications. Access your IRC Small Business Recovery Grant Application HER
