State and County COVID-19 Relief Available to Maryland Businesses

While the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) is providing $2.2 trillion in stimulus relief and economic aid packages at the Federal level, Maryland businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic can apply for relief at the State and County level through one or more of the programs detailed below.

Maryland Small Business COVID-19 Emergency Relief $75 Million Loan Fund

Overview:

Provides loans of up to $50,000 (not to exceed 3 months of cash operating expenses).
4-year term; 2% interest rate, with principal and interest payments deferred for the first 12 months of the term and straight amortization beginning in the 13th month of the term.
No collateral requirements.
Eligible uses include: working capital to support payroll expenses, rent, mortgage payments, utility expenses, or other similar expenses that occur in the ordinary course of operations.

Eligibility:

Applicants must be for-profit Maryland-based businesses with employees on their payroll for whom they have had payroll taxes withheld (i.e., W-2 employees, not 1099 independent contractors).
Applicants must have 50 or fewer employees.
Applicants must have been established prior to March 9, 2020 and be in good standing with the Maryland State Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT).
Business owner(s) must have a minimum personal credit score of 575.
Applicant businesses must demonstrate financial stress or disrupted operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

At this time, the SBA has stopped accepting applications for this fund, however, information may be obtained from the SBA at https://commerce.maryland.gov/fund/maryland-small-business-covid-19-emergency-relief-fund-programs.

Maryland Small Business COVID-19 Emergency Relief $50 Million Grant Fund

Overview:

Provides for grants of up to $10,000 (not to exceed 3 months of cash operating expenses).
Eligible uses include: working capital to support payroll expenses, rent, mortgage payments, utility expenses, or other similar expenses that occur in the ordinary course of operations.

Eligibility:

Applicants must be Maryland-based for-profit businesses and non-profit businesses.
Applicants must meet all eligibility requirements for the Maryland Small Business COVID-19 Emergency Relief $75 Million Loan Fund (detailed above), except that, non-profit businesses may apply for grants, but not loans).
In addition, for the grant program:
- Annual revenues of the applicant businesses (including subsidiaries, affiliates, and parent companies) or non-profit businesses must be less than $5 million.
- Applicant businesses or non-profit businesses must seek longer term funding through their banks, the SBA, or other sources.

*Eligible businesses can apply to the State of Maryland for emergency relief in the form of both loans and grants*

Maryland COVID-19 Emergency $5 Million Relief Manufacturing Fund

Overview:

This fund provides an incentive program to assist Maryland manufacturers to produce personal protective equipment and other critical need items.
Grants of up to $100,000 will be made available to manufacturers to: (1) increase existing capacity to produce critical need items, or (2) quickly pivot operations to produce critical need items.
Grants will be disbursed 50% at the time of award and 50% upon project completion with proof of expenses.
Eligible costs include, but are not limited to, capital expenses such as machinery and equipment, raw materials needed for production, and operating expenses associated with increased production.

Eligibility:

Applicants must currently be located, and plan to manufacture the products, in Maryland.
Applicants must be in good standing with SDAT and with OSHA and MOSH regulations.
Applicants must demonstrate the ability to quickly implement the proposed project in order to meet the urgent needs resulting from the COVID-19 emergency.

Applicants may apply here: https://onestop.md.gov/forms/manufacturing-innovation-grant-application-5e7df8b3140f8000fcc3c1f0

The Maryland State Arts Council (MSAC) Emergency Grants for Arts Organizations and Independent Artists

Overview and Eligibility:

Grant opportunities for arts organizations and artists in Maryland affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Those who are not eligible to receive funding from other relief sources (e.g., SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan program, Maryland Small Business COVID-19 Emergency Relief Loan or Grant Funds, or Unemployment Insurance) will be given priority to receive grants under the MSAC Emergency Grant program.

Applicants may apply here: https://marylandarts.smartsimple.com/s_Login.jsp

Montgomery County $20 million Public Health Emergency Grant Program (PHEG)

Overview:

Provides grants of up to $75,000 to Montgomery County businesses and non-profits that can demonstrate financial losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Eligible uses include: employee wages and benefits, taxes, debt, rent or other operating losses.
Provides micro-grants of up to $2,500 also available for teleworking technology.

Eligibility:

Applicants must be for-profit businesses or non-profit businesses having their principal places of business in Montgomery County, and which employ 100 or less full-time employees. There is no minimum number of employees required for eligibility (i.e. sole proprietors are eligible to apply for grants).
Currently, a business’s application for or receipt of Federal or State level relief does not preclude eligibility to apply for and receive relief under the PHEG program, however, an amendment may be introduced to establish that grants under the PHEG program are secondary to available Federal and State relief.

Application directions are to be available shortly. Business owners who would like to be notified when the application for the PHEG program is available may email: [email protected] and include PHEG in the subject line.

Prince George’s County $15 million COVID-19 Business Relief Fund

Overview:

Provides relief in the form of loans and grants; relief funds may be used to support cash operating expenses including payroll, suppliers, rent, fixed debt payments and other business critical cash operating costs.
Loans:
- Up to $100,000 (not to exceed to six months of verified payroll & operating expenses).
- 3-year term; 10 year amortization; 3.75% interest rate, with principal and interest payments deferred for the first 12 months of the term.
- UCC lien filing on business assets and personal and corporate guaranty required.
- Must certify to the County that it will retain jobs, with a goal of hiring Prince George’s County residents for future vacancies.
- Must maintain operations in Prince George’s County for the term of the loan.
- Must commit best effort to have 35% Prince George’s County-based small business participation in any future construction work.
Grants:
- Businesses with fewer than 10 employees are eligible for grants up to $5,000.
- Businesses with 10 or more employees are eligible for grants up to $10,000.

Eligibility:

Applicants must be for-profit business having their principal places of business in Prince George’s County.
Businesses must meet the SBA definition of a small business.
New business ventures are not eligible.
Currently, a business’s application for or receipt of Federal or State level relief does not preclude eligibility to apply for and receive relief under the Business Relief Fund, however, with their applications for a loan or grant under the Business Relief Fund, applicants must submit evidence that they have submitted applications for relief from the SBA and the State of Maryland.

Applications may be submitted on the Prince George’s County Economic Development Corporation webpage (https://www.pgcedc.com/) from April 13 through May 15, 2020.

Prince George’s County Public-Private Partnership

Overview and Eligibility:

Provides for up to $900,000 in additional grants to local non-profit businesses providing COVID-19 relief efforts in Prince George’s County.
The grants will be administered by The Greater Washington Community Foundation.

Fund requests may be submitted here: https://www.thecommunityfoundation.org/covid-19-rfp