Small businesses with fewer than 25 full-time employees are eligible for the grant funding. According to the county, the types of eligible businesses include for-profit sole proprietorships, organizations, associations, corporations, partnerships, joint ventures, limited partnerships, limited liability partnerships or limited liability companies.
This funding is part of Congress' Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act. It is available to all businesses in Tarrant County outside of Fort Worth.
“It's an opportunity of $2,500 up to $10,000 for ... expenses that you've not been able to recover due to losses of the COVID-19 ... pandemic,” Grapevine Chamber of Commerce CEO RaDonna Hessel said.
Details behind the application process became available the morning of June 9, Hessel said.
“While the date for application is not until June 22, we wanted to make sure our businesses saw it because there are several steps that you have to go through, including the uploading of specific documents [like] bank statements, receipts, etc.,” Hessel said.
The Tarrant County Commissioners Court has allocated about $30 million in federal funds for the Small Business Assistance Grant Program for grant funding purposes, according to the Colleyville Chamber of Commerce.
Eligibility is also dependent on applicants being able to show loss increases or profit reductions when comparing April and May to January through March, according to the county.
If awarded a grant, businesses can use those funds for expenses incurred during the pandemic but cannot overlap with costs already covered by the Payroll Protection Program or Economic Injury Disaster Loan, according to the county.
Hessel said she has heard from Grapevine business owners that providing services while abiding by government executive orders remains a challenge. That includes restrictions such as providing 6-foot social distancing in buildings and the 75% occupancy limitations.
“Most restaurants cannot expand beyond the 50% [occupancy] just because of space. So while there’s ... a window of being able to open farther, ... until that 6-foot rule changes, ... they're still going to struggle,” Hessel said.
Hessel said the Grapevine Chamber of Commerce is offering its scanners up to businesses that need help in compiling documentation.
Further details about the application process for the grant funding are available at this Tarrant County link.
