As of Aug. 10, the Garland Chamber of Commerce will begin accepting round 2 grant applications for small businesses of 50 employees or less and have received previous federal assistance like EIDL, PPP or others. The rest of the eligibility and documents are still required. See additional information below. Round 2 applications will be accepted Aug. 10 – 21.
Grant funds are open to businesses who fit the following criteria:
- For-profit businesses with 20 or fewer employees (Round 1) or 50 employees or less (Round 2) at the time of City of Garland’s COVID-19 emergency declaration on March 16, 2020.
- Must be located within Garland city limits and operate out of a physical location in Garland.
- Physical location includes “brick and mortar” structure, single-family homes, and other types of physical locations. Locations will be verified with the review of Certificate of Occupancy as granted by the City of Garland Building Inspection.
- Business must have been in operation since September 21, 2019.
- Registered to do business in the State of Texas.
- Demonstrate a 25% or more loss of revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Annual gross revenue must be under $1.5 million.
- Owner/Applicant is not currently in bankruptcy and has not filed bankruptcy in the last 12 months.
- Owner/Applicant is current with property taxes and City fees, or has a payment plan in place with County and/or City as of April 30, 2020.
- Self-employed individuals, independent contractors, and sole proprietors serving the business community are also eligible.
- No conflict of interest with the City of Garland and Garland Chamber of Commerce (i.e. the following persons cannot have ownership or financial interest in the assisted business, or be an employee of the assisted business: City of Garland elected officials and their immediate family members or City of Garland staff and Garland Chamber of Commerce staff).
- All funds must be spent by November 11, 2020.
- If selected for the CRF Business Assistance Program, grants will be a minimum of $5,000 to a maximum of $20,000, based on invoices and proof of payment for eligible expenses paid during the period from March 1, 2020 through May 31, 2020.
Duplication of Benefits
Businesses may not receive CRF Business Assistance Program if they have received federally-subsidized disaster assistance such as Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL Loans), Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans or Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funding. Applicants for CRF Business Assistance Program must disclose any funds applied for or received from these sources or other federal assistance programs. It is in the Garland Chamber’s discretion to determine if funds received from any of these sources constitute a duplication of benefits. Dallas County can use the business tax ID to verify if the business has previously received federal assistance and to verify that business is not delinquent with federal, state and local governments. Grants under this program will be provided in an amount not to exceed the level of need. Business owners are eligible to apply for both Garland’s CRF Program and Dallas County Emergency Business Assistance Program (EBAP). If approved for both, the business owner must choose one (1) federal funding program to accept.
If duplication of benefits determination is made after funds have been disbursed, the amount of funds that were determined to be duplicated must be repaid to the city of Garland by November 11, 2020.
**For round 2 of small business grants, we are following Dallas County and accepting businesses that have received previous federal assistance, such as PPP or EILD funding.
What can these funds be used for?
CRF Business Assistance Program funds can be used to reimburse the costs incurred on or after March 1, 2020 of business interruption due to COVID-19 as a result of required closures, voluntary closures to promote social distancing or decreased customer demand. Examples of these costs include but not limited to:
- Fixed Assets:
- Equipment / Machinery (must be directly related to COVID-19)
- Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
- Technology
- Contactless payment types
- Electronic devices
- Business software (Quickbooks, etc.)
- Services:
-
- Working Capital
- Payroll Expenses
- Contract Labor
- Health care benefits
- Supplier payments
- Rent, lease or mortgage payments for real property used for business purposes. (ex. A storefront or warehouse. Does not include a personal residence.)
- Rent, lease or purchase payment for business property (ex. Delivery vehicle, food truck, kitchen equipment, technology payment, and communications systems/equipment.
- Marketing:
- Website improvements:
- Redesign
- New development
- Feature addition (online shopping, chat, etc.)
Funds can be used for one or all cost examples. Businesses who receive grant funding will be required to document how the funds are used and submit documentation once funds are depleted.
Selection Process
Garland Chamber of Commerce staff will review eligible applicants who have submitted all required documentation. CRF Business Assistance Program will be distributed in order of application arrival.
If selected for the CRF Business Assistance Program, grants will be a minimum of $5,000 to a maximum of $20,000, based on invoices and proof of payment for eligible expenses paid during the period from March 1 through May 31.
Applications will be submitted through ZoomGrants. Through this platform, business owners have the capability to submit their application with the required documentation to be eligible. Grant applications will be reviewed in the order of arrival. If the application is missing documentation, a notification will be sent stating there is a 24-hour deadline to receive missing documentation. If not received within the timeframe, the application will be placed on the end of application submissions.
The grant applications will be initially reviewed by Chamber staff. The second review and final approval will be conducted by executive members of the Chamber Board of Directors.
Email for Assistance
For questions about the CRF Business Assistance Program, email Andrea Tamez at andrea.tamez@garlandchamber.com Monday through Friday. Expect a response within 24 hours.
Information provided by Garland Chamber of Commerce.