Small Business Relief Fund

Eligible applicants include:
- For-profit businesses, including owner-operated franchise businesses
- Nonprofits that earn revenue similar to businesses and were impacted by Executive Order 20-99 Section 7ciii. Examples include nonprofit cafes or coffeeshops; nonprofit theaters, museums, music or arts organizations that primarily earn revenue through ticket sales; nonprofit fitness centers that earn revenue by membership dues or other fee-for-service models.
- Home-based or mobile businesses/nonprofits with one or more W-2 employee in addition to an owner
- Businesses that opened during the pandemic and were required to close or partially close by Executive Order 20-99 Section 7ciii

Applicants listed above must meet all criteria below:
- Have a permanent location in Hennepin County
- Have no more than 150 employees per location as of March 2020
- Be registered with no current tax liens on record with the Minnesota Secretary of State
- Have a COVID-19 Preparedness Plan in effect
- Be able to provide documentation of revenue of at least $10,000 in 2020 and revenue impacts
- Certify in good faith that all documentation submitted is accurate and that any misrepresentations or fraudulent information will - require funds to be returned
- Be impacted by an executive order to reduce the spread of COVID-19, and be included in one of the categories below:
a. Businesses and nonprofits required to close or partially close by Executive Order 20-99 Section 7ciii, including restaurants, bars, breweries, distilleries, caterers, music and other indoor entertainment venues, performance venues, gyms, fitness studios or other indoor recreation venues, or businesses that primarily derive income from sales of goods and services to entities directly affected by EO 20-99.
b. Businesses impacted by prior executive orders that reduced capacity and whose revenue decreased by at least 30%, including customer-facing businesses such as personal care and salon businesses; retail businesses that sell household goods or services; other customer-facing businesses that rely on in-person transactions or services, such as dry cleaners, house cleaning businesses. Business types not explicitly and directly impacted by executive order must provide documentation of 30% decrease in year-over-year revenue (April-September).

Prioritization:
- Priority 1: Applicants that received preliminary approval from Hennepin County’s previous Small Business Relief Fund round that closed in December for restaurants/bars, gyms/fitness studios and event venues, but did not receive funding due to limited available funds
- Priority 2: Applicants that have not previously received a grant from Hennepin County’s Small Business Relief Fund in 2020, and other applicants from the most recent round of funding for restaurants/bars, gyms/fitness studios and event venues that did not receive funding due to limited available funds
- Priority 3: Applicants that previously received Hennepin County Small Business Relief funds that did not apply to the most recent round of funding for restaurants/bars, gyms/fitness studios and event venues. Hennepin County reserves the right to further prioritize applicants that have received less funding through previous application rounds.

For ineligible businesses, please see URL for Full Text below.

All applications must be submitted by Thursday, January 14 at noon.

Registration with the Minnesota Secretary of State is required as a means of independent verification of your business. "In good standing" means that your business is current and active with any required business registrations with the Office of the Secretary of State as of March 1, 2020.

Businesses that have received assistance in the past from federal, state, county or other local programs are eligible for this funding for eligible expenses that were not previously reimbursed.

Businesses that applied to Hennepin County’s Small Business Relief Fund round for restaurants, bars, gyms and entertainment venues (Round 4) that closed on December 1 will be automatically considered for funding and do not need to re-apply.

Businesses that received a previous small business relief grant from Hennepin County are eligible to apply for additional funding this round. However, priority will be given to first time applicants.

Application video tutorial: https://www.hennepin.us/economic-development/-/media/economic-development/Application-How-To.mp4