New Jersey’s smallest businesses feeling the economic pain of the coronavirus can begin applying on Friday for small grants offered by the New Jersey Economic Development Authority.
The EDA last week approved about $40 million in grants, loans and loan guarantees to small and mid-size New Jersey businesses, many of which have been ordered to close or drastically scale back their operations as part of the state’s effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
Tim Sullivan, who heads the authority, has said while this initial aid will just scratch the surface of the need created by the economic crisis, the EDA tried to create easily accessible programs that can readily be expanded if more funding opens up.
The $5 million in small business grants will open for applications at 9 a.m. this Friday. Other programs will roll out in the coming weeks, the EDA said.
The smallest businesses, those 10 or fewer full-time equivalent employees, can receive grants between $1,000 and $5,000. These grants specifically target companies in retail, personal-care, entertainment, recreation, accommodation, food service, laundry and repair services.
In order to receive money, businesses will have to attest that they need this money to tide them over and won’t cut any employees or will make every effort to rehire laid off or furloughed staff.
The Small Business Emergency Assistance Grant Program is capped at $5 million, which will support between 1,250 and 2,000 grants, though officials said they expect demand will be much higher.
Of the $5 million, $3 million is set aside for businesses with five full-time equivalent employees or fewer. Home-based businesses are not eligible.
EDA officials said the grants are intended to help small businesses keep their employees on the payroll.
More than 155,000 people filed unemployment claims in New Jersey in the week that ended March 21, according to new data from the state Department of Labor and Workforce development.
Businesses can apply online.
All the information on the EDA’s coronavirus efforts can be found here.
A copy of the application can be found here.
Samantha Marcus may be reached at smarcus@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter@samanthamarcus. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.
Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips