TRP Sumner continues to research and inform our clients about the various relief funds available for businesses impacted by the coronavirus. If your business was denied the Paycheck Protection Loan or has missed opportunities for COVID-19 relief initiatives, the following information may be important for you to consider.  

The NC General Assembly appropriated $15 million to assist businesses and nonprofit organizations that have experienced interruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Entities qualifying could be eligible for up to $250,000 from a new state grant program. Businesses that have received assistance under the federal PPP program DO NOT qualify under this state program.

Grant applicants that qualify will be awarded funds proportionately until the $15 million is exhausted. (Note: the NC Department of Commerce website link below indicates the NC General Assembly may include 501(c) (6) organizations as qualifying entities in amendments to the law when it reconvenes on September 2^nd.)

The NC Department of Commerce is now accepting applications for the Job Retention Grant Program (JRG) through the agency’s website.

The JRG initiative is supported by $15 million in federal COVID-19 funds, which the General Assembly appropriated for this use (S.L. 2020-80). Both for-profit and certain types of nonprofit employers may apply for grants through the program, which has a strict application deadline of September 1, 2020.

To qualify for a grant award, applicants must meet certain eligibility requirements, which include:

• The applicant cannot have participated in the federal Paycheck Protection Program, the federal Main Street Loan Program, or the state Rapid Recovery Loan Program.
• The applicant must have maintained at least 90 percent of the number of full-time employees in North Carolina at the end of June 2020 as it did at the end of February 2020.
• The applicant must have had a reduction in sales (in the case of a for-profit business) or receipts (for nonprofits) of more than 10 percent when comparing March-May 2020 to March-May 2019 levels.

Applicants are eligible for a grant up to 125 percent of two months of its 2019 average monthly payroll costs, up to a maximum of $250,000.  All applicants that apply and are eligible may expect to receive some level of assistance, but the actual amount of the grant will depend on the total number of eligible requests received by the program.

More information about the Job Retention Grant Program, including access to the program’s online application form, can be found at the Department of Commerce website at nccommerce.com/jrg.

If you need more information regarding this topic or have any questions regarding COVID-19 relief initiatives, give us a call at one of our three locations in Fayetteville or Dunn, NC. You may also visit the COVID-19 Resource Page on our web site at www.trpsumner.com.