As McLaughlin, PC recently explained in a blog entry, the Mississippi Senate has passed S.B. 2772, which allocates $300 million for small business relief in Mississippi. The bill, called the 2020 COVID-19 Mississippi Business Assistance Act, will give an immediate $2,000 grant to businesses such as barbershops and salons, daycare centers, and restaurants that were forced to shut down during the COVID-19 stay-at-home order.
A second grant program is designed to further help those businesses closed by COVID-19 safety measures, as well as other Mississippi businesses that may have continued operations but still been affected. For the first three weeks, the priority will be on companies that didn’t receive bailout money from the federal government.
The McLaughlin, PC blog entry points to two different categories of grant:
- Immediate $2,000 relief grant. For businesses that were registered with the state and legitimately conducting business (as determined by a few factors noted in the blog entry), had fewer than 50 employees, and that fit certain types of NAICS codes, they can apply for and receive an immediate $2,000 grant.
- The “Back to Business Mississippi” grant program. Eligible businesses can apply for grants between $1,500 and $25,000 if they suffered a business interruption due to COVID-19. Again, they have to be in good standing with the state of Mississippi and meet other requirements.
For the first 21 days of the program, the “Back to Business Mississippi” grant applications will only be open to Mississippi companies that didn’t receive Payroll Protection Program or EIDL emergency relief from the Federal government. McLaughlin, PC also notes that $40 million of the grants have been specifically set aside from minority-owned businesses.
The Mississippi Development Authority will administer the grant programs, and the state has put aside additional budget dollars for them to increase their capacity in order to handle the applications.
The MDA website can be found here. Read the original story at McLaughlinPC.com and follow the Innovate Mississippi COVID-19 Resource Center for more information as these grants opportunities come online.
