Deadline set for applying to DE Relief Grant program

DOVER – Eligible Delaware small businesses and nonprofits will have until December 4, 2020 to apply for a DE Relief Grant, the Delaware Division of Small Business announced Thursday.

DE Relief Grants are a joint effort between the state of Delaware and New Castle County, administered by the Delaware Division of Small Business. Under the rules of the federal CARES Act, from which the program money comes, the State and County must use available funds by Dec. 31, 2020. The application deadline of December 4 provides time for all applications to be reviewed and funds to be dispersed prior to the end of the year.

The third application round of the $150-million program officially opened last week. In the third round even more businesses are eligible for funds.

Small businesses no longer need to demonstrate a revenue decline of at least 7.5 percent from 2019 to 2020 but instead simply any decrease in revenue, regardless of size. And businesses that received PPP funding of more than $1 million are now eligible as well.

Approved applicants in disproportionately impacted industries will be receiving a 15% bonus allocation in the coming weeks. This bonus will apply to those who have already received grants and those who receive them going forward in a qualifying industry.

To this point, 1,904 applicants have accepted and/or been approved for more than $61 million in grants, with requests for another $31.2 million currently undergoing the review process.

The median grant award has been a little more than $20,000. The typical recipient had a median annual 2019 gross revenue of just under $500,000.

Microenterprises (fewer than 10 FTE) make up 72% of grant recipients and have received 47% of the total funding – $28.8 million
- More than half of that went to businesses with fewer than 5 FTE – $15.4 million
77% of funding has gone to businesses in disproportionately impacted industries, including restaurants, retail, personal care, childcare, etc. – $47.3 million
Nearly a quarter of funding has gone to women owned businesses – $15.2 million
17% of funding has gone to minority-owned businesses – $10.5 million
Grant recipients come from each of Delaware’s three counties:

County	% of approved grant applicants	% of small businesses in state
New Castle	57%	62%
Kent	13%	14%
Sussex	29%	22%

As a reminder, businesses and nonprofits that are applying should make sure to:

Provide their entire federal 2019 tax return (requirement may be different for nonprofits)
Submit their current State of Delaware business license
Confirm their expenses are eligible
Triple check their application for accuracy before submitting

Due to the positive response from so many businesses, the Division’s application helpline will stay open through the end of the application period from 8:30 am to 4 pm on weekdays. Applicants can call 302-672-6816 for assistance from one of DSB’s regional business managers.

Numerous additional resources can be found at delbiz.com/relief, including an extensive Q&A document, demonstration videos and a full explanation of eligible expenses.

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Media contact Michael Chesney Division of Small Business (302) 943-9508 Michael.Chesney@delaware.gov