On Tuesday, June 2nd, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) announced that applications for the expanded Small Business Emergency Assistance Grant Program will be available at 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday, June 9th. The $45 million assistance program will provide grants up to $10,000 to small businesses impacted by the Coronavirus pandemic.
The new round of applications will mark the second phase of the NJEDA Small Business Emergency Assistance Grant Program which previously provided more than $8 million in grants to nearly 2,500 businesses across New Jersey’s 21 counties during Phase 1. Phase 2 of the application program includes eligibility changes related to NAICS codes, employee caps, home-based businesses and non-profit organizations, applicants interested in learning about their eligibility or applying for the program can visit faq.business.nj.gov. The NJEDA staff will process the applications on a first-come-first-served basis. There is no application fee.
In addition to the assistance program, business owners can also apply for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), a loan program designed to provide a direct incentive for small businesses to keep their workers on the payroll. The U.S. Small Business Administration will forgive loans if all employees are kept on the payroll for eight weeks and the money is used for payroll, rent, mortgage interest, or utilities. The recently passed Paycheck Protection Program Felixiblity Act relaxes some of the original restrictions of the program, theses changes include: expanding the timeframe to use the loan from 8 weeks to 24 weeks; reducing the 75/25 rule on payroll costs to 60/40; and extending the deadline to rehire laid-off workers from June 30 to December 31, 2020. Interested applicants can learn more about the program and apply at www.sba.gov/funding-programs/loans
