Jackson County Businesses Sharing in $142,000 from Michigan Small Business Relief Program

(April 11, 2020 10:24 AM) The Michigan Strategic Fund authorized the funding of the Michigan Small Business Relief Program, to provide up to $10 million in small business grants and $10 million in small business loans to Michigan small businesses.

A Jackson County team, consisting of staff members from several Jackson County organizations, reviewed nearly 357 grant and loan applications from area small businesses. For loans, Jackson County small businesses submitted loan requests totaling $8.1 million. Jackson County was allotted $150,000 in loan referral monies and was limited to referring 4% of the loan applications to the Michigan Economic Development Corporation for further review.

For grants, local Jackson County small businesses submitted grant requests totaling $1.9 million. Jackson County was allotted $142,000 in grant monies and was limited to funding 15% of the grant applications. Forty-two (42) businesses in Jackson County will share the $142,000 grant pool. The selection committee took several factors into consideration: diversity of the business; geographical location and the significance of the business to that specific area; the impact the grant dollars would have on helping the business; how the grant dollars will be used; completeness of the applications and if there were other financial tools that the business could access/received.

Grant awardees included retailers, restaurants, gyms and sports facilities, entertainment venues, manufacturers, service and nonprofits.

Tim Rogers, President and CEO of the Enterprise Group told JTV, “The EG is working to keep the EG website as up to date as possible on available assistance programs and will send out emails with updates as we have them. We encourage companies to speak with their financial institutions to determine how to access the federal relief programs.”

The Enterprise Group is continuing to collaborate and advocate with local, state and national partners on programs to provide relief for small businesses. This includes evaluating the details of the federal stimulus package to determine how it will influence our efforts to provide economic relief in our region.

The EG notes that the region’s small businesses are among those most severely impacted by these protective measures. The EG is encouraging Jackson County businesses to consider additional resources below as options for financial support during this time:

Small Business Development Center Economic Injury Disaster Loans: These loans will provide vital capital for businesses facing temporary economic hardships as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. Small businesses apply for this EIDL directly with the SBA at https://sbdcmichigan.org/disaster-loan-help/.

Paycheck Protection Program: Last week, Congress passed the CARES Act that, among other things, allocated $350 billion through the Paycheck Protection Program to help small businesses keep workers employed during the COVID-19 outbreak. These loans can be up to 2.5 times the borrower’s average monthly payroll costs (not to exceed $10 million) and can be used for expenses like payroll costs, rent on a leasing agreement and payments on utilities. To learn whether your business qualifies for this loan and to find more information about how it could help your business, go here: http://paycheckprotectionprogrammichigan.com/.

Michigan Economic Development Center’s Capital Access Program: As small and medium-size businesses across the state are negatively impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak, existing programs through MEDC’s Capital Access Program provide opportunities for financing that may not otherwise be available. Any business that has been affected by COVID-19 is eligible to receive support through the Collateral Support and Loan Participation programs. Additional information about the eligibility requirements for these programs, as well as the applications for each program, can be found at michiganbusiness.org/covid19. There are many lenders across Michigan that already participate in the MEDC Capital Access program. Talk with your lender about whether this is an option that might be right for you.

Dream Maker Fund: Patti Poppe, CEO of Consumers Energy, and her husband, Eric, have generously donated $1 million of their own, personal money to help Jackson County small businesses. Small businesses can apply for a grant up to $5,000 by applying here www.dreammakerfund.org.

COVID-19 Response Fund: United Way of Jackson County and the Jackson Community Foundation have launched a fund to help the community deal with the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak and the steps taken to slow the disease’s spread. The COVID-19 Response Fund will tackle the greatest needs afflicting the most vulnerable people in Jackson County, particularly those in poverty or ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed). You can find out more here http://uwjackson.org/covid-19-relief-fund/.