COVID-19 Business Relief funds close on Wednesday

The Wyoming Business Council will close applications for the COVID-19 Business Relief Program’s Agriculture and Endurance funds at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 18. All eligible farmers, ranchers, businesses and nonprofits that have not applied should do so as soon as possible at wyobizrelief.org.

“We encourage Wyoming agriculture producers, businesses, and nonprofits to apply for funding before these applications close,” said Business Council CEO Josh Dorrell. “These federal funds have already made a positive impact on the state’s economy, helping more than 6,400 entities stay afloat. We don’t want folks to miss this opportunity provided by the Legislature and Governor Gordon for financial assistance during these hard times.”

The Business Council has received $28.7 million in application requests from 367 agriculture producers and paid $8 million of the $18.9 million approved to date from the Agriculture Fund. This fund has $90 million available for farmers and ranchers who have experienced gross revenue losses and expenses in specific categories due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Applications for the Endurance Fund have outpaced funds currently available, but the Business Council encourages businesses and nonprofits in need to apply in case additional CARES Act money becomes available. This fund opened with $24 million allocated in unspent dollars from the Wyoming Legislature’s COVID-19 Business Relief Program.To date, more than 2,380 entities have submitted applications, totaling more than $217 million. Endurance Fund applicants are not guaranteed funding at this time and will be placed on waitlists.

To ensure financial help reaches entities with the fewest resources and the greatest need, the Business Council has prioritized Endurance Fund applicants who have not received previous COVID-19 Business Relief Program funding. The Business Council is reviewing applications in the order they were received within this prioritization and will review all applications to be ready to pay out more if additional funding becomes available. The Business Council expects to start Endurance Fund payments this week.

Visit wyobizrelief.org for more information about the Business Relief Program. All payments are posted on www.wyopen.gov/wbc, a website created by Wyoming State Auditor Kristi Racines to provide the public with easy access to state of Wyoming expenditures.

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 now consists of five funds: the Interruption, Relief and Mitigation Funds, which are all closed; and the new Agriculture and Endurance Funds, which opened Nov. 2 and close Nov. 18. For more information, visit wyobizrelief.org.