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Cutrona Encourages Local Businesses to Apply for COVID Relief Grants

July 22, 2021
Al Cutrona News

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State Rep. Al Cutrona (R-Canfield) announces applications are open for local businesses and venues in the form of grant programs to help Ohio industries recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. The initiatives were implemented by Senate Bills 108 and 109, legislation passed by the Ohio General Assembly. Cutrona introduced companion legislation in the Ohio House as House Bill 169.

“We have seen our bar and restaurant industry hit very hard by the pandemic and they’re the backbone of the Valley,” said Cutrona. “That’s why it’s so important for our small businesses to apply for some of this relief during these difficult times to help them get back on their feet.”

The programs through the bills include the following allocations:

  • $100 million for the Food and Beverage Establishment Grant
  • $20 million for the Entertainment Venue Grant
  • $25 million for the Lodging Grant
  • $10 million for the New Small Business Relief Grant

On July 1, the funds doubled to $310 million once the budget was also approved by the General Assembly and signed into law. Each program has a certain amount of funding for each of Ohio's 88 counties, however, if businesses in a county do not fulfill their allocation by July 31 the remaining funds will become available to businesses statewide. 

The grant relief programs for Ohio restaurants, entertainment venues, and lodging provides $10K, $20K, or $30K grants based off of percentage of revenue loss from 2019 revenue compared to 2020 revenue. The new small businesses grant program provides $10K grants to new Ohio small businesses established on or after January 1, 2020.

Each program will require applicants to have an OH|ID, and businesses that plan to apply can get an OH|ID now, if they don’t already have one. Register at OH|ID (ohid.ohio.gov) by creating an account with a username/password. Click on Create OH|ID Account to set up an account at OH|ID. 

All four programs will be administered by the Ohio Development Services Agency. Program guidelines, terms and conditions, and required documentation are available at https://businesshelp.ohio.gov/.  For questions, please email BusinessHelp@Development.Ohio.Gov.