Madison County CARES Act Relief Provides Funds for Local Businesses
Madison County will open an application process on Monday, August 17, 2020 to grant $1.75 million in CARES Act relief funds to businesses and public service agencies located in the County that were impacted by COVID-19. Funds will be distributed through the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) as a result of the CARES Act, with an allocation of $1.5 million for businesses and $250,000 for public service agencies. Grants will be awarded on a first come, first served basis for all submissions with complete and qualifying applications. Funds for accepted applicants are expected to be available in late October 2020.
This program provides a maximum $15,000, 0% deferred payment loan to help offset/recover from the significant, temporary loss of revenue to these qualified businesses during this pandemic, and to assist businesses in retaining and paying employees. The amounts disbursed will be broken down by the following Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) Employee counts:
| FTE Employees | Loan Amount |
| 1-5 | Maximum $5,000 |
| 6-10 | Maximum $10,000 |
| 11-25 | Maximum $15,000 |
Program Overview
- $15,000 maximum (see above) for qualifying small businesses with a physical location in Madison County (1-25 full-time employees, or equivalent part-time employees, including the owner).
- Food Service Establishments, short-term lodging, and other non-essential businesses impacted by the local or state safer-at-home orders are eligible.
- Larger businesses over 25 FTE employees, non-profits, and home-based businesses are not eligible.
- Funds can only be used to reimburse the cost of business interruption due to orders to close or limit operations, provided those costs are not paid by insurance or by another federal program. Such costs may include employee wages, vendors, rent, or other business expenses.
Eligible Businesses & Applications
Qualifying businesses include small businesses hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, such as food service establishments, short-term lodging establishments, and non-essential businesses.
More detailed information on the funding, eligibility and application requirements of the program can be found on the Madison County website by clicking here. Applications can be submitted beginning August 17, 2020 and will be accepted through August 24, 2020 at 4:30 PM.
Alton and Granite City manage their own CDBG funding and will be responsible for taking applications within those communities. Please follow the link above for more details. We have included links below for the Application and Guidelines for applying.
Madison County CARES Act Economic Development Application Guidelines
Madison County Small Business Loan Application
How We Can Help
Our team is closely monitoring the relief programs available to local businesses and we are ready to provide assistance in applying for these funds. Please contact our team with questions on your eligibility or help with your application.
