Please Join the Honorable Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton and Governor’s Rural Affairs Council on Oct 21st for a special edition overview of the Business
Interruption Grant:
October 21, 9:30am-10:30am
https://illinois.webex.com/illinois/onstage/g.php?MTID=eb1058a62e1cdd864f497a5dadc0d0290
Registration is recommended in advance using the link above. The presentation is under an hour and will provide time for Q&A.
The Business Interruption Grant (BIG) program is a multi-million-dollar program developed by Governor Pritzker and the Illinois General Assembly to provide economic relief for small businesses hit hardest by COVID-19. BIG leverages federal funding provided by the CARES Act to help offset COVID-19 related losses for Illinois small businesses. Funding may be used to help businesses with working capital expenses, including payroll costs, rent, utilities and other operational costs. A total of $220 million will be made available for small businesses of all types in Illinois. Grants will be awarded and funded on a rolling basis until funding is depleted. The grant size will be equivalent to two months of expenses.
The BIG program is open to all eligible businesses (for profit and nonprofit) with $20 million or less in annual revenue in 2019 and experienced losses due to COVID-19. Of the total funding, $70 million will be invested in Disproportionately Impacted Areas (DIAs) and $60 million in heavily impacted industries. The heavily impacted industries are defined as having been close or operating at a very diminished capacity since mid-March and are likely to continue to do so until Phase 5 of the Restore Illinois Plan. These Heavily Impacted Industries include event spaces, music venues, performing arts venues, indoor recreation, amusement parks, movie theaters, museums, charter/shuttle bus service.
For the application and additional support materials, please visit the website:
https://www2.illinois.gov/dceo/SmallBizAssistance/Pages/C19DisadvantagedBusGrants.aspx
For technical assistance or questions, reach out to your Regional Economic Development Representative
https://www2.illinois.gov/dceo/SmallBizAssistance/RegionSpecificAssistance/Documents/2020ILEcDevRegionMap.pdf