Governor Phil Murphy announced on October 12th that $112 million in aid, that the State of New Jersey received from CARES Act money, is being made available to provide grants to small businesses and help support struggling individuals with rental and mortgage assistance payments. $70 million of the funds will be distributed by the State’s Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) Small Business Emergency Assistance Grant Program. $35 million of that amount will be distributed to the food service industry and $15 million will be sent to businesses that have five employees or fewer (“microbusinesses”). The remaining funds will be used to help small business owners purchase PPE, as well as to help struggling families. This $112 million grant is Phase 3 of the NJEDA Small Business Emergency Assistance Grant.
Interested business owners will need to pre-register to receive an application of the NJEDA Grant. Pre-registration will begin on October 19th and close on October 27th. The registration must be filled out online. The application will be available via a phased approach after the October 27th pre-registration deadline. Restaurants can apply starting on October 29th, micro-businesses starting on October 30th, and all other eligible businesses starting on November 2nd. Applications will be open for a period of one week and accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. Any business or non-profit located in New Jersey, including home-based businesses, with 50 or fewer full-time equivalent employees (FTE’s) is eligible to receive grant funding. Grant awards will be calculated based on the number of FTE’s businesses employ. In addition, 33% of the funding for each category of recipient will be directed to businesses that are in a New Jersey Opportunity Zone.
To qualify for the grants, businesses must also:
- Have been in existence and operational on February 15, 2020
- Be fully registered to do business and have a valid Business Registration Certificate
- Have a physical location in the State of NJ
- Not be actively excluded or debarred by the State of NJ or the Federal Government
A complete list of the requirements are found in the FAQ’s. No information was provided as to the requirements that individuals must meet in order to qualify for the NJEDA Phase 3 Grant. Additional information may be updated, so affected individuals should check the NJEDA website for future updates.
The pre-registration application can be accessed at https://programs.njeda.com/en-US/SignIn
Contact us if you need assistance navigating these procedures. Learn more about our business services here, and read more helpful articles here.
