The deadline for La Plata County small businesses to apply for a grant of up to $10,000 to pay for COVID-19 expenses has been extended through Wednesday .
Increased interest in the grant, which initially had an application deadline set for Friday, led Local First, which is overseeing the program, to extend the deadline a week.
“We have seen tremendous interest from the business community, and they are requesting more time to ensure their applications are complete,” said Monique DiGiorgio, Local First executive director. “It’s a stressful time for business owners, and we want to make sure they have a little extra breathing room to complete the application.”
The La Plata Cares grant is designed to help businesses with 50 full-time employees or fewer recover from extra costs and expenses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The grant was initially awarded to La Plata County, which engaged Local First to administer money in partnership with AidtoAll, a web-based platform that will be used for applications and to determine eligibility.
Grants are available for both for-profit and nonprofit businesses.
A total of $900,000 is available with the potential of up to $1 million in additional funding, depending on need and availability.
Money must be used to reimburse businesses for necessary expenditures incurred between March 1 and Dec. 30 because of the COVID-19 public health emergency.
Awards are expected to be announced in November.
Small-business owners interested in the grants should go to the Local First/AidtoAll website, https://localfirst.aidtoall.org, for an online application. A video explaining the program is also available on the website.
As of Friday, 57 applications for grants had been completed and 132 applications were in process. Total funding requests amounted to $460,130 as of Friday.
For more information, email laplatacares@local-first.org. For technical support, email info@aidtoall.org.
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