RALEIGH: Governor Roy Cooper and Department of Revenue Secretary Ronald Penny joined business leaders to provide an update on the Business Recovery Grant Program and encouraged local businesses to apply. These grants are part of North Carolina’s efforts to support businesses as they recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The deadline to apply for the program is January 31, 2022.

“Small businesses are the backbone of our economy,” said Governor Cooper. “These grants will help us support businesses and workers, so we can emerge from this pandemic stronger than before.”

“We appreciate the fact that this program comes at a time when businesses are working to recover and return to their pre-COVID financial positions,” said Secretary Penny. “We take seriously our obligation to provide this vital aid in an efficient and expeditious manner.”

“North Carolina’s restaurants, hotels and bars saw over $5 billion in losses due to no fault of their own,” said Lynn Minges, President and CEO of the North Carolina Restaurant and Lodging Association. “These grants will be a lifeline to help businesses across the state who have been devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic. We are grateful to state lawmakers and the Governor’s Office for providing this funding and to the N.C Department of Revenue for their quick implementation of the program.”

"African Americans faced many financial inequities prior to the COVID 19 pandemic. Statistics reveal that our businesses have been disproportionately impacted by COVID and incurred significant loss of revenue," said Calvin Patterson, President of the Winston Salem Black Chamber of Commerce. “The Business Recovery Grants and HUB certification process provide direct and immediate avenues to making a financial difference for those businesses. African American businesses are important to local economies and they support communities through out the state of North Carolina."

Launched on December 16, 2021, the Business Recovery Grant Program will issue a one-time payment to eligible North Carolina businesses that experienced an economic loss due to COVID-19. The application period closes January 31, 2022. The budget Governor Cooper signed on November 18, 2021 provided $500 million to fund the Business Recovery Grant Program.

Two types of grants are available to eligible businesses that suffered an economic loss of at least 20 percent during the pandemic:

• Hospitality grants are available to eligible arts, entertainment and recreation businesses, as well as eligible accommodation and food service businesses such as hotels, restaurants and bars.

• Reimbursement grants are available to eligible businesses that did not receive funding from other relief programs including Paycheck Protection Program, COVID-19 Job Retention Grant and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) Advance.

For more information about the application, visit www.ncdor.gov/business-recovery-grant.