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On August 10, applications will open for the Rebuild VA Grant fund to help small businesses and nonprofits whose operations have been disrupted by COVID-19. The program will provide grants of up to three times the applicant’s average monthly eligible expenses up to a maximum award of $10,000. 

These grants are aimed at assisting small businesses and nonprofits that have faced economic distress as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. With $70 million in the fund, approximately 7,000 businesses will be assisted. Half of the proceeds will be directed toward small businesses and nonprofits located in economically disadvantaged areas, including ensuring adequate representation of women-owned and minority-owned businesses.

Eligible entities include those in the following industry sectors:

• restaurant and beverage service,
• non-essential retail,
• exercise and fitness,
• personal care and personal grooming,
• entertainment and public amusement,
• private campgrounds
• overnight summer camps.

Eligible businesses or non-profits must be organized as one of the following:

• Corporation (C-Corp);
• Pass-through entity (S-Corp, Partnership, LLC);
• Sole proprietorship;
• Independent contractor;

Other legal entity that is organized separately from the owner;

• 501(c)(3) organizations
• 501(c)(19) veterans organizations.

Applicants must meet the following eligibility criteria:

• Have not already received CARES Act funding from any federal, state, regional or local agency or authority
• Principal Place of Business is in Virginia
• 25 or fewer employees
• Gross revenue of less than $1.5 million in the last fiscal year
• Operating prior to March 12, 2020
• Currently in good standing with the Virginia State Corporation Commission
• The applicant must engage in legal activity

The following expenses are eligible uses of the Rebuild VA grant funds: 

• Payroll support, including paid sick, medical, or family leave, and costs related to the continuation of group health care benefits during those periods of leave;
• Employee salaries;
• Mortgage payments, rent, and utilities;
• Principal and interest payments for any business loans from national or state-chartered banking, savings and loan institutions, or credit unions, that were incurred before or during the emergency;
• Eligible personal protective equipment, cleaning and disinfecting materials, or other working capital needed to address COVID-19 response.