Good news for small businesses and nonprofits residing in Arizona’s Maricopa County: If you act quickly, you can take advantage of a recent expansion to the Maricopa County Small Business / Nonprofit Relief Grants program. While the program’s application window reopened Monday, August 17, 2020 and is scheduled to remain open until Friday, October 2, 2020, funds are being awarded on a rolling basis and it is likely that the $22.5M set aside for small businesses will run out well before the window closes.
Both for-profit and nonprofit entities may be eligible to apply and are encouraged to take action quickly.
Maricopa County closed Phase 1 of the program on July 31, and opened Phase 2 on August 17, with the following expansions on criteria for eligibility:
- Applicants that received Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster (EIDL) loans from the Small Business Administration (SBA) are now eligible to apply for Phase 2 of the Maricopa County Small Business / Nonprofit Relief Grants program.
- The maximum amount for grants has been expanded from $10K up to $25K (per applicant, depending on how severely their revenues declined due to COVID-19).
- The maximum for employee Full Time Equivalents (FTE) has been increased from 25 to 50.
- The maximum gross revenue cap for applicants increased from $3M to $5M.
- As opposed to showing 25% gross revenue declines in the short window of March-April 2020 compared to March-April 2019, the window for eligibility has expanded to small businesses that can show a 25% decline in revenue from March-June 2020 compared to March-June 2019.
Access the Maricopa County Small Business/Nonprofit Relief Grants Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) here.
While eligibility for the program and the above-listed criteria are specific to small businesses and nonprofits operating in Maricopa County prior to January 1, 2019 (and not within the cities of Mesa or Phoenix before that time,) those in Yuma, Chandler, and Phoenix proper may find other open grant opportunities with the Arizona Community Foundation here.
With the SBA’s COVID-19 loan programs fading, REDW wants to help identify new financial resources whenever possible to benefit our clients. For assistance in determining your business or nonprofit’s eligibility, gross revenue declines, or for guidance in applying for any of the above-mentioned grants programs, please contact REDW Senior Tax Manager Tony Arnold.
REDW is committed to keeping you informed at all times, but especially during a crisis of the magnitude of the COVID-19 pandemic. Stay connected with us on LinkedIn and @REDWLLC. Or check out some of our other updates on our COVID-19 Resource Hub.
