Indiana small businesses get grant extension Christmas gift
(The Center Square) – Indiana businesses needing more help and more time while they fight to remain afloat during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic are receiving good news.
Gov. Eric Holcomb’s office announced an extension for the application period for the Indiana Small Business Restart Grant through Jan. 22.
The grant allows small businesses in all 92 Indiana counties to apply for recovery funding. Also, the state plans to implement changes to eligibility criteria and reimbursement categories to increase the number of small businesses using the program and to increase the amount of money businesses can receive.
Now, small businesses with 51-75 full-time employees can apply and seek reimbursement for payroll and insurance premium payments. Also, businesses can seek reimbursement for qualified expenses from between March through December 2020, extending the time period for two months for Marion County and by a month for all other counties.
Extending the program allows small businesses that have not received the maximum award of $50,000 to receive reimbursement for qualified business expenses like payroll, insurance premiums, rent or mortgage payments, utilities, lease payments for real or personal property and safety investments.
The Indiana Small Business Restart Grant is funded at $31 million by federal dollars made available through the CARES Act – $30 million approved by the state and an additional $1 million allocated by the city of Indianapolis for small businesses located in Marion County. Of the state’s $30 million allocation, at least $5 million is reserved for certified minority- and women-owned businesses.
Since launching June 3, the state has issued $7.04 million in grants to 892 small businesses. Of these grants, more than $817,400 (11.6%) has been awarded to 130 certified minority-owned, women-owned and veteran-owned businesses.
