NC Launches Job Retention Grant Program: How To Apply

NORTH CAROLINA — Small businesses and nonprofits affected by coronavirus in North Carolina are now eligible for up to $250,000 in grants, Gov. Roy Cooper said Thursday.

As of Thursday, the North Carolina Department of Commerce began accepting applications for the Job Retention Grant Program — a $15 million federally funded grant program to help businesses retain employees.

“The Job Retention Grant Program offers another way for employers hit hard by COVID-19 to gain some relief,” Cooper said. “This program aims to help employers keep employees on the payroll.”

A webinar providing an overview of the Job Retention Grant program and how to apply is set for Aug. 17. Information about how to register for the webinar may be found here. The deadline for applying for the grant is Sept. 1.

"Businesses are eligible for grants of up to $250,000 if they haven’t already gotten support from another program like the Paycheck Protection Program," Cooper said in a news conference.

How To Apply
According to the NC Department of Commerce, applicants must meet certain eligibility requirements including:

• The applicant cannot have participated in the federal Paycheck Protection Program, the federal Main Street Loan Program, or the state Rapid Recovery Loan Program.
• The applicant must have maintained at least 90 percent of the number of full-time employees in North Carolina at the end of June 2020 as it did as the end of February 2020.
• The applicant must have had a reduction in sales (in the case of a for-profit business) or receipts (for nonprofits) of more than 10 percent when comparing March-May 2020 to March-May 2019 levels.

Says the Department of Commerce:
"Applicants are eligible for a grant up to 125 percent of two months of its 2019 average monthly payroll costs, up to a maximum of $250,000. All applicants that apply and are eligible may expect to receive some level of assistance, but the actual amount of the grant will depend on the total number of eligible requests received by the program. If requests exceed the $15 million that’s available, then individual grant amounts will be lowered on a prorated basis."

The state anticipates awarding grants by early October.

More information about the Job Retention Grant Program, including access to the program’s online application form, can be found at the Department of Commerce website.