Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and Lt. Gov. Jon Husted announced last week the launch of four grant programs to help small and medium-sized businesses recover from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.  

The programs will provide $155 million in grant funding to businesses that opened in 2020, food and beverage establishments, entertainment venues and lodging venues. The funds were made available by the Ohio General Assembly as part of Senate Bill 108 and Senate Bill 109, both of which Gov. DeWine signed into law in May.   

All four programs will be administered by the Ohio Development Services Agency (Development). Program guidelines, terms and conditions and required documentation for all four programs are available now at BusinessHelp.Ohio.Gov. The applications for these programs are open today! 

Ohio Small Business Development Centers and Ohio Minority Business Assistance Centers are staffed with advisors who can help businesses with the application process.   

The Food and Beverage Establishment Grant  will provide grants of $10,000, $20,000 or $30,000 to restaurants, bars, coffee shops and other food and drink businesses. The amount of individual grants to eligible businesses will be determined by the business’s loss of revenue in 2020. The total funding available for this program is $100 million.  

$500,000 will be set aside for food and beverage establishments in each of Ohio’s 88 counties. As businesses in each county are approved for funding, the grants will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis. When a county’s allocation is depleted, businesses in that county will be eligible to receive grants from the remaining funds in the overall grant program. If businesses in a county do not deplete the county’s allocation by July 31, the remaining funds will become available to businesses statewide.  

The Entertainment Venue Grant will provide grants of $10,000, $20,000 or $30,000 to theaters, music venues, spectator sports venues, museums and other entertainment venues. The amount of individual grants to eligible businesses will be determined by the business’ loss of revenue in 2020. The total funding available for this program is $20 million.  

$150,000 will be set aside for entertainment venues in each of Ohio’s 88 counties. As businesses in each county are approved for funding, the grants will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis. When a county’s allocation is depleted, businesses in that county will be eligible to receive grants from the remaining funds in the overall grant program. If businesses in a county do not deplete the county’s allocation by July 31, the remaining funds will become available to businesses statewide.  

The Lodging Grant  will provide grants of $10,000, $20,000 or $30,000 to hotels, motels and bed and breakfast operations. The amount of individual grants to eligible businesses will be determined by the business’s decline in occupancy rate in 2020. The total funding available for this program is $25 million.  

$100,000 of the $25 million in funding will be set aside for businesses in each of Ohio’s 88 counties. As businesses in each county are approved for funding, the grants will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis. When a county’s allocation is depleted, businesses in that county will be eligible to receive grants from the remaining funds in the overall grant program. If businesses in a county do not deplete the county’s allocation by July 31, the remaining funds will become available to businesses statewide.  

The New Small Business Grant  will provide grants of $10,000 to small businesses that were established between Jan. 1, 2020, and Dec. 31, 2020. The total funding available is $10 million. 

$100,000 of this funding will be set aside for businesses in each of Ohio’s 88 counties. As businesses in each county are approved for funding, the $10,000 grants will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis. When a county’s allocation is depleted, businesses in that county will be eligible to receive grants from the remaining funds in the overall grant program. If businesses in a county don’t deplete the county’s allocation by July 31, the remaining funds will become available to businesses statewide.