Beaver County is currently sorting through the 220 applications it received for grants under the CARES Act (Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security) that was passed by Congress this summer.
The county received $14.8 million in funding that will be dispersed at the Board of Commissioners’ discretion between county and municipal governments, along with companies and nonprofits. The grants must be used for COVID-19 related expenses and have to be spent no later than December 20.
Commissioners have decided to issue a first round of grants, not to exceed $25,000 each, to nonprofits and companies who have not yet received other COVID-related funding such as the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) or Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL).
“The consultants we have hired are preparing to present to the Board of Commissioners no later than the middle of this month a report of which small businesses are eligible for grants under guidelines provided to us by the DCED (Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development),” Commissioner Chairman Dan Camp told BeaverCountian.com “At this point, it looks like less than 50 percent of the applicants are eligible.”
Commissioners are expected to make a decision by the end of this month on which companies will receive grants and in what amounts.
“Beaver County was built on the backs of small businesses. When COVID hit, these businesses shut down under state orders and they didn’t have the deep pockets that larger corporations have to absorb their losses,” Camp said.
“I wish we had more time to give this money out and I wish we were able to offer it to more organizations. If we have the funding left to do a second phase of funding we’ll be able to offer grants to people who have already received money through programs like the PPP. I believe many of these people still need additional help.”
Commissioner Jack Manning told BeaverCountian.com that COVID-19 has been devastating to the small business community which employs county residents, and to local nonprofits whose work provides vital lifelines to people in need. Manning served as president of the Beaver County Chamber of Commerce before being elected to office last year.
“Small businesses and our nonprofit corporations are the heart and soul of Beaver County and its economy,” Manning said. “Those private nonprofits are delivering complementary essential services that the government can’t provide, and particularly at a time like this their services are more important than ever.”
A total of 30 municipalities also submitted applications for CARES grants, ranging from a $494 request from Marion Township to a request by the City of Beaver Falls for more than $990,000. Camp and Manning say a final decision has not yet been made on how funds will be allocated to local governments, although both are leaning towards a proposal to award grants to each municipality in the county based on its population.
The following is a list of all companies and nonprofits who submitted applications to receive CARES grants from the county, along with the dollar amounts those organizations have already been awarded in PPP or EIDL funding.
BeaverCountian.com obtained this list from county government as the result of an open records request it submitted under Pennsylvania’s Right-to-Know Law.
The organizations are listed in the order their applications were received by county commissioners.
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