Olmsted County hopes to reach hundreds of small businesses with grant funding
Olmsted County and Rochester Area Economic Development, Inc. (RAEDI) have partnered to make $4 million in CARES Act funding available — and the time for business owners to submit their applications is almost here.
Wilfredo Román Cátala, Olmsted County’s chief financial officer, says the Olmsted County Small Business Relief Fund will award grants ranging from $1,500 to $25,000 to hundreds of businesses in the Rochester area that have taken major financial hits because of Covid-19.
Unlike the federally funded Payment Protection Program (PPP), designed to exclusively cover payroll expenses, the money from these grants can go to any business-related expense.
“We’re hoping that we can save businesses that are going under,” said Cátala. “Hopefully this is a resource to help pay for rent, mortgage, utilities, getting payroll paid, acquiring materials, building inventory — almost anything. There’s a very broad scope of what you can do with these funds.”
What Applicants Need to Know
To be eligible to receive funds, any applying business must have a physical presence in the county, be owned by a resident of Minnesota, and have 50 or fewer full-time employees. Cátala says priority will be given to veteran, minority and women-owned businesses, as well as businesses with six or fewer employees.
Businesses that have not received any previous government funding will also be prioritized, though businesses that have received funding are still encouraged to apply.
“We’re trying to help those that haven’t been helped by other [programs],” said Cátala, “either from the federal government or the state.”
Applications will open this Wednesday at noon and close at the end of August. RAEDI and the county will not decide on grant recipients before the window closes, meaning this grant is not first-come, first-serve like PPP loans and other previous financial relief options have been.
According to Cátala, this process (and the three weekends between now and the end of the month) could take pressure off the smallest, most desperate businesses — which may not have the manpower necessary to fill out applications ahead of larger and richer operations.
“We want to be able to wait a little bit,” said Cátala. “I know everyone needs the funding, but at the same time, we need to be mindful and realize that not every business will be ready to do this right away. We don’t want to put them at a disadvantage.”
$1 million in additional CARES Act funding allotted to Olmsted County will also be set aside for local nonprofits. The Rochester Area Foundation will play the role of facilitator — much like RAEDI — for those funds.
When applications for small business grants go live, they will be available here.
Isaac Jahns is a Rochester native and a 2019 graduate of the Missouri School of Journalism. He reports on politics, business and music for Med City Beat.
