CENTERVILLE — Owners of small businesses looking for a financial lifeline began calling about Centerville’s Community Improvement Corporation grant program about 30 minutes after it was announced Thursday.
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"Business has been a little sluggish from time to time," Dress for a Day co-owner Rachelle Spencer told News Center 7's Monica Castro. "The financial impact has been substantial to us.
In steps Centerville, offering grants of up to $2,500 to qualifying businesses through its revamped CIC. The COVID-19 Business Relief Program is funded through the CARES ACT, the federal law centered on mitigating some of the economic fallout of the pandemic.
Spencer said she hoped to secure federal Paycheck Protection Program loans and other opportunities to help her struggling business.
"We were not successful with those," she said.
"We have seen the devastating effect COVID-19 has had on many small businesses. It is an essential function of the City of Centerville to support our business community. We aimed to find a way to help those businesses that are consumer-focused like restaurants and retail stores as well as those that are ineligible for the federal Paycheck Protection Program," Development Director Michael Norton-Smith said.
Norton-Smith said the Centerville is one of the first cities in Ohio to offer such a business relief program.
The COVID-19 Business Relief Program is targeted at companies with 50 or fewer employees. The CIC board will consider applications on a first come-first serve basis. Other considerations may include the likelihood the grant funds will allow businesses to retain jobs in Centerville. Applicants will be subject to a financial review and must have experienced a decrease in gross revenue because of COVID-19.
The award can be used for payroll, rent or mortgage payments, utility expenses, insurance payments and facility upgrades to comply with Responsible Restart Ohio social distancing requirements.
Centerville businesses may apply now through October 2020. Demand may exceed available funds. CIC administrators anticipate that grant awards will be announced in early August.
Spencer said she plans to apply.
“I think it’s a wonderful opportunity that the city is putting out for their small businesses. It really shows the commitment from the city of Centerville to the businesses,” she said.