Golden Valley's Small Business Relief Grants Program Accepting Applications From June 23 Until July 2

Press release from the City of Golden Valley:

June 22, 2020

Starting Tuesday, June 23, Minnesota small businesses affected by COVID-19 will have 10 days to apply for grants from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED). The application period closes at 5 pm Thursday, July 2.

The Minnesota Small Business Relief Grants Program will provide $10,000 grants to small businesses that have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

To be eligible, businesses must:

• have 50 or fewer full-time employees
• have a permanent physical location in Minnesota
• be majority owned by a permanent resident of Minnesota
• be able to demonstrate hardship as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak

Additional eligibility requirements and application information can be found online at DEED’s Small Business Relief Grants page.

Eligible businesses will be selected to receive awards through a randomized, computer-generated lottery process. All awards will be administered by qualified local and regionally based nonprofit agencies, and the grant funds can be used for working capital to support payroll, rent, mortgage payments, utility bills, and other similar business expenses.

Half of the funding will go to businesses in Greater Minnesota and half to businesses in the seven-county Twin Cities metro area, as required by law.

More than $60 million is available, including:

• $18 million for businesses with six or fewer full-time employees
• $10 million for minority business enterprises
• $2.5 million for veteran-owned businesses
• $2.5 million for women-owned businesses
• $2.5 million for operators of indoor retail and food markets with an ethnic cultural emphasis

DEED is the state’s principal economic development agency, promoting business recruitment, expansion and retention, workforce development, international trade and community development. For more information about the agency and its services visit the DEED website or follow DEED on Twitter.

This press release was produced by the City of Golden Valley. The views expressed here are the author’s own.