JC CARES Grant Program Provides $2.5M To Small Businesses

Johns Creek GA

13 August, 2021

2:22 PM

Description

JOHNS CREEK, GA — The City of Johns Creek has completed its Johns Creek CARES Business Grant program, which provided more than $2.5 million in emergency fund support of Johns Creek businesses the hardest hit by the significant, temporary loss of revenue caused by the pandemic. Since the program's inception, the city has provided grant aid to more than 500 eligible businesses, amounting to more than $2.5 million being put back into the community. Local business applicants completed forms and documentation to provide grant eligibility requirements. Program-eligible businesses received a $5,000 grant for help with payroll, rent, inventory, overhead, and a variety of other costs incurred because of coronavirus pandemic shutdowns and constraints. A wide variety of businesses were helped by the JC CARES Grant funding including restaurants, tutoring programs, dental offices, law offices and retail stores. The majority of the businesses which applied were in the restaurant, retail, and beauty industries, accounting for 69.7 percent of the applications. "The spread of COVID-19, along with state-issued restrictions, had both an immediate and lingering effect on the businesses and economy of Johns Creek," Mayor Mike Bodker said. "The JC CARES Grant program was created with the hope of bringing some relief to several of the city's hardest hit industries." Businesses were deemed eligible for the grant based on specific criteria set forth by the city council. Businesses must have been in operation in Johns Creek prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, have a current business license with the city, currently be in operation, have under 250 employees, have a commercial business location (in-home businesses were not eligible), public interfacing, and were impacted by the governor's executive orders. The JC CARES Grant program was approved by the mayor and city council in November 2020 and adopted through an Inter-governmental Agreement with Fulton County. The IGA formalized the city's pro rata allocation of the CARES Act funds in the amount of $3,528,706. Of the funding, $3 million received from Fulton County was specifically allocated by city council to assist the Johns Creek community. These $5,000 grants provided businesses with the means to make payroll, rent, utilities, purchase supplies, and keeps their doors open a little longer," Bodker said. "While we are optimistic about the future, we are still committed to using every available resource to its maximum potential to protect our residents and support our businesses."