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Avon Lake Puts $100,000 into Small Business Grant Program

11/25/2020 – City of Avon Lake, in partnership with Lorain County Chamber of Commerce, launches Avon Lake COVID-19 Small Business Relief Grant program, with $100,000 in grants available for Avon Lake small businesses.

On Tuesday, December 1, at 9:00am, the application will become available for the Avon Lake COVID-19 Small Business Relief Grant. The application will be on the Lorain County Chamber of Commerce website, and completed applications will be sent to the Chamber.

On Monday, November 23, Avon Lake City Council authorized the use of $100,000 in Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funds to establish the grant program. The City will administer the grant program in partnership with the Lorain County Chamber of Commerce, which will collect and evaluate the grant applications. In April, the Chamber administered a small business grant program for Lorain County businesses, and this Avon Lake program is built on that foundation, utilizing the structure and process that the Chamber created. Businesses that are eligible for these grants have a principal place of business in an Avon Lake commercial space and have between three and twenty employees. The maximum grant amount is $2,500 and can be used for payroll, rent payments, utility payments, and other qualified expenses.

“The Avon Lake administration and City Council fully understand the financial toll that the COVID-19 virus has taken on our local economy, especially the small business community,” says Mayor Greg Zilka. “In March we worked with our Community Improvement Corporation on a grant to local restaurants and taverns just as they were forced to close. On a broader scale the city is now offering $100,000 in grants to small businesses because of the restriction of business hours and the possibility of another shutdown. Every little bit helps. We hope that the community will buy local and be generous.”

“In some ways, this escalation of COVID-19 makes it feel like it did back in March,” says Economic Development Director Ted Esborn. “We don’t have any forced closures now, but the challenges that our small businesses face—going into winter with an elevated virus threat—gave us a similar conviction that we had to act.”

“The Lorain County Chamber is pleased to work with the City of Avon Lake on the extension of the Grant Program begun in April. As the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic continues, the proactive approach that the Mayor & Council are taking will help the local Avon Lake businesses most at risk,” says Tony Gallo, President & CEO of the Lorain County Chamber of Commerce.

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