County Executive Jim Tedesco announced that all Bergen County small businesses with 19 or fewer full-time employees will be eligible to apply for the Bergen County CARES Small Business Grant Program which opened its next round of funding in phases starting on Monday, August 31. The program, which first opened in July, was only initially available to “non-essential” businesses forced to close as a measure to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Approximately $6,041,838 has been awarded to 754 small “non-essential” businesses in Bergen County thus far, with applications still under review.
Like before, eligible businesses will be able to apply for up to $10,000 to offset the costs of rent payments, property mortgage and utilities expenses.
The next round of applications will open in three staged phases:
Restaurants and food service establishments—application opened Aug 31
Essential retail—application opens Sept 7
All small businesses—application opens Sept 14
The deadline for all three phases will be Friday, October 5, 2020 at 5 p.m. To apply for the program and for more information, business owners can visit www.BergenCountyCARES.org.
To qualify for the Bergen County CARES Small Business Grant Program businesses must fall under the following criteria:
Businesses must have a physical location in Bergen County, New Jersey and must provide evidence that they are a valid operating business in the state of New Jersey (i.e. Certificate of Formation or Incorporation, latest corporate tax returns, sales tax returns and/or payroll tax returns).
Must have 19 or fewer full-time employees.
Businesses must have been open and operating on March 1, 2020.
Businesses owned by county employees and elected officials, as well as their immediate families, are not eligible.
Must provide affidavit stating company has not received any federal, state or other funding or federal/state documents showing date and monetary amount of all received assistance
Priority will be given to businesses that have not received any federal grant assistance, New Jersey Economic Development Authority or US Small Business Administration grants or other grant assistance.
Receipt of grant funds through the Bergen County Small Business Grant Program is a one-time opportunity. Any business that has received grant funds during any phase of the Bergen County Small Business Grant Program is not eligible to receive additional grant funds through the program.
