News

Apr 07, 2020

On March 30, 2020, Summit County Executive Ilene Shapiro in conjunction with the Greater Akron Chamber of Commerce; The City of Akron; and, JumpStart in collaboration and partnership with the KeyBank Boost and Build Program, announced the creation of a COVID-19 Small Business Emergency Relief Grant Program. The program will be administered by the Greater Akron Chamber of Commerce and grants will be available to Summit County small businesses who have been adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Summit County small business can now apply for these grants at www.gaccovid19.org/GrantProgram. The application period will remain open until 400 applications are received, at which point the Program’s Grant Underwriting Team will begin reviewing and approving eligible applicants.

The program will provide $5,000 grants to eligible small businesses. To be eligible, a small business must be a for-profit enterprise with its principal place of business located in Summit County.  The business must employee a minimum of three and a maximum of twenty-five individuals for at least twenty hours per week.  Additionally, at least 50% of the employees must be residents of Summit County.  Businesses must demonstrate a financial need and desire to continue operations by applying for a U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Economic Injury Disaster Loan specifically related to the COVID-19 pandemic and/or another SBA loan program established to support small businesses in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

 For more information, please review program details at www.gaccovid19.org/GrantProgram or send an email inquiry to covidgrant@greaterakronchamber.org.   

For more information about SBA loans and other local resources, please visit www.gaccovid19.org.