AS PANDEMIC PERSISTS, BERGEN COUNTY DISTRIBUTES ADDITIONAL FUNDS TO SMALL BUSINESSES
AS PANDEMIC PERSISTS, BERGEN COUNTY DISTRIBUTES ADDITIONAL FUNDS TO SMALL BUSINESSES
HACKENSACK, N.J. – Bergen County Executive Jim Tedesco announces that the County will provide additional funding to small businesses already approved and those currently under review that will receive approval for the Bergen County CARES Small Business Grant Program.
The County has increased the total funding for the Bergen County CARES Small Business Grant Program and grant awardees will receive an additional award in the same amount as their original award. Businesses do not have to file a new application to receive the additional award.
“As we experience a second wave of the ongoing pandemic, COVID-19 continues to cause difficult economic conditions for Bergen’s small businesses,” said Bergen County Executive Jim Tedesco. “In response, my Administration and the Bergen County Board of Chosen Freeholders have decided to increase the total funding for Bergen County CARES Small Business Grant recipients, doubling their initial award. These local businesses are the backbone of Main Street, Bergen County and it is important to support them as they continue to endure financial strains.”
“We have watched our neighborhood stores and small businesses struggle to stay in business through the ongoing pandemic, and we know how much the Bergen County CARES Small Business Grant Program has helped,” said Freeholder Chairwoman Mary Amoroso. “With this very dismaying resurgence of the virus, we offer a new round of funding with the hope our neighborhood businesses can hang on until vaccines break the pandemic’s grip.”
Grant awardees will begin receiving notification after the Thanksgiving holiday.
The Bergen County CARES Small Business Grant Program initially opened on July 13th to non-essential businesses forced to close as a measure to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. The program was expanded in several phases throughout the summer and fall, with the last round of applications closing on October 30th. The Program provides relief to all small businesses with up to 30 full-time employees. To date, the County has awarded over $20 million to 2,772 businesses with another 1,360 still under review. The County will eventually distribute upwards of $60 million to eligible businesses over the course of the program.
The Bergen County CARES Small Business Grant Program is funded through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act Federal relief fund. For administrative and troubleshooting questions please email BergenCountyCares@co.bergen.nj.us or call the troubleshooting hotline at 201-336-6011.
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