By Jerry Underwood
Made in Alabama
Gov. Kay Ivey last week announced Revive Plus, a $200 million grant program to support small businesses, nonprofits and faith-based organizations in Alabama that have been affected by COVID-19.
Revive Plus is the second wave of funding for these organizations with 50 or fewer employees and will award grants of up to $20,000 for expenses they have incurred due to operational interruptions caused by the pandemic and related business closures. The original Revive program was announced in July.
“As the state has rolled out over $1 billion of the CARES Act monies to the individuals and businesses affected by COVID-19, it became evident the group most overwhelmingly hurt during the pandemic were the small mom and pop shops,” Ivey said.
“A second round of assistance through Revive Plus will ensure that the small business owners who have borne the brunt of the downed economy can be made as whole as possible,” she said. “As we head into the holiday season, my hope is that this will be welcome news for our businesses and help ease their burdens from what has been a very hard year.”
Entities may receive up to $20,000 to reimburse qualifying expenses if they have not received federal assistance for the corresponding item they are claiming with the state of Alabama. The Revive Plus grant is in addition to any state of Alabama Coronavirus Relief Fund grant previously received, including the Revive Alabama Small Business, Non-Profit, Faith-Based and Health Care Provider grants.
Revive Plus grants will be awarded to qualifying applicants on a first-come, first-served basis until the funds are exhausted.
Entities may access grant information and the grant application through the Coronavirus Relief Fund website by visiting crf.alabama.gov
The application period for the Revive Plus Grant Program opened at noon on Nov. 23 and run through noon Dec. 4.
Qualifying entities must have been in business March 1, 2020, must currently be in business and must have a valid W-9 to apply for a Revive Plus Grant.
This story originally appeared on the Alabama Department of Commerce’s Made in Alabama website.
