City of Austin awards additional $2.5M in grants to small businesses
[ad_1]
Austin, Texas – The city of Austin is a boost for small businesses.
The city has announced that it will raise another 2.5 million
Last year, city guides set up the Austin Small Business Relief Grant to help businesses with rental, salary and operating costs during the COVID-19 pandemic. The city says this time around 89 small businesses have received up to $ 40,000 in economic recovery grants.
Austin / Travis County exceeds five level COVID-19 guidelines
Even though the city passed the Level 5 threshold, Austin Public Health didn’t make the official call.
The city received $ 7.6 million in Community Development Block Grants – coronavirus funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) through the CARES Act. Following a public filing and approval by the HUD, $ 2.5 million has been allocated to small business support, the city says, with the remaining funds for rent payments and childcare benefits.
The CDBG-CV program requires that the funds go to low- and middle-income beneficiaries. All companies that have received grants from CDBG-CV funding employ workers and provide services in low- and middle-income areas, the city says.
The Texas unemployment rate continues to fall as the state recovers
The Texas Workforce Commission says the Austin area appears to be doing much better than most of the state, despite rising unemployment this summer.
The other award winners who came next on the basis of submitted applications from 2020 were assessed on the basis of criteria such as need, vulnerability and fairness. All award winners were also assessed to ensure they remained operational, were in a low- to middle-income area of Austin, and met financial underwriting criteria required by the HUD.
In this latest round of recipients, 31 winners were previously funded for personal protective equipment (PPE) reimbursement through CARES Act dollars in 2020. These recipients also received CDBG-CV funding in 2021 to complete their original Austin Small Business Relief Grant applications in full, up to their full eligible award amount.
___
OTHER HEADINGS:
Austin-Travis County exceeds five level COVID-19 guidelines
Austin-Travis County companies are preparing for Phase 4
Texas rental assistance program extended to September
___
DOWNLOAD: FOX 7 AUSTIN NEWS APP
SUBSCRIBE TO: Daily newsletter | Youtube
CONSEQUENCES: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter
[ad_2]