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The next two waves of funding under the COVID-19 Business Relief Program, the Relief Fund and the Mitigation Fund, will open to Wyoming businesses and nonprofits in the coming weeks. Businesses and organizations interested in applying for one or both of these funds should attend an upcoming informational webinar to be better prepared when applications open.
Webinars for businesses are scheduled for Thursday, July 23, at 7 a.m. or noon. Nonprofits are encouraged to attend webinars geared toward their eligibility on Thursday, July 23, at 8 a.m. or 1 p.m. Additional webinars will be held next week for businesses and nonprofits and will not be separated by type of entity. Any business or nonprofit can attend the webinars at 8 a.m. and noon on both Tuesday, July 28 and Thursday, July 30. Register for the webinars at wyobizrelief.org. Recordings of the webinars will also be on the website following the presentations.
The Business Council is currently in the process of developing a secure online application system for the next two programs, beta testing the system internally and with businesses and nonprofits and finalizing an application review process.
“We are working to quickly turn around a secure online application system so that we can put money directly into the hands of eligible businesses and nonprofits that need it most so they can continue to employ our neighbors and aid in Wyoming’s economic recovery,” Business Council CEO Josh Dorrell said.
The Relief Fund and Mitigation Fund make an additional $225 million available to Wyoming businesses and nonprofits that have experienced hardship related to the COVID-19 crisis. The first of the COVID-19 Business Relief Programs, the Interruption Fund, closed to applications on July 2 and has put approximately $100 million into Wyoming businesses impacted by the coronavirus. The Wyoming Legislature created the COVID-19 Business Relief Program in May to distribute $325 million in federal CARES Act funding.
Relief Fund ($175 million available, awards up to $300,000): The Relief Fund has $50 million set aside for businesses required to close by public health order. Eligible businesses that received Interruption Fund dollars can apply for the Relief Fund if they can show additional losses due to COVID-19, or were unable to apply in the first round. An additional $125 million is available to help businesses and nonprofits cover COVID-19 related expenses and direct or indirect losses due to public health orders.
Eligible nonprofit organizations include 501(c)(3), 501(c)(6), 501(c)(12) and 501(c)(19) with at least one paid full-time employee and no more than 50 percent of time spent on lobbying.
Eligible businesses and nonprofits must be headquartered in Wyoming or have principal operations in Wyoming and at least 60 percent of their employees employed in Wyoming or 60 percent of the business payroll paid to individuals living in Wyoming. Businesses must also have employed 100 or fewer people on March 31, 2020, and have established their business before any public health orders were issued.
Mitigation Fund ($50 million available, awards up to $500,000): The Mitigation Fund reimburses all businesses and nonprofits that have incurred employee and customer health and safety expenses that were a direct result of COVID-19.
Businesses and nonprofits must be headquartered in Wyoming or have principal operations in Wyoming and at least 60 percent of their employees employed in Wyoming or 60 percent of the business payroll paid to individuals living in Wyoming. They must also have been established before any public health orders were issued.
Allowable COVID-19 related expenses: Applicants need to show certification of actual COVID-related expenses incurred in Wyoming between March 1, 2020 and December 1, 2020 for the health and safety of Wyoming employees and to comply with public health guidelines. Examples include:
expenses related to purchasing cleaning products, sanitizers, personal protective equipment (PPE) and other safety equipment
hiring and paying employees necessary to implement protocols associated with screening, safety, security, cleaning and sanitizing business premises
any training necessary to implement those protocols
Go to wyobizrelief.org to stay informed about program details and to register to receive Business Council news releases.
ABOUT THE COVID-19 BUSINESS RELIEF PROGRAM
In May 2020, the Wyoming Legislature created three programs to distribute $325 million in federal CARES Act funding to Wyoming businesses and nonprofits that have experienced hardship related to the COVID-19 crisis. The Wyoming Business Council is distributing these dollars through the COVID-19 Business Relief Program, which has been broken down into three funds – the Interruption Fund, the Relief Fund, and the Mitigation Fund.
Go to wyobizrelief.org to stay informed about program details and to register to receive Business Council news releases.
Contact Strategic Partnerships Director Ron Gullberg at 307-286-9519 or [email protected].