Duval County small business owners will have another opportunity to apply for $2,000 in COVID-19 relief from the city starting Dec. 18.
Jacksonville’s Small Business Relief Program will provide a third round of grant funding to 875 applicants, according to a city news release.
The application will be available at myjax.custhelp.com at 9 a.m.
City Council authorized another $1.77 million in federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act money for the program at its Dec. 8 meeting. The funds will be granted first-come, first-served.
The program, initially approved in May, originally allocated $9 million to 4,500 small businesses through prepaid debit cards to brick-and-mortar businesses, sole proprietors and 1099 contract workers.
“When we established this program in June, we committed to getting funds in the hands of as many business owners as possible. That commitment has not changed,” Mayor Lenny Curry in the release. “With this $1.7 million, we will continue to support our citizens on the path to economic recovery, doing our part to keep businesses open and people working.”
To qualify for the program, businesses must:
• Be located in Duval County.
• Provide the tax ID assigned to the business.
• Be in operation for at least one year before Feb. 29, 2020.
• Not have more than 100 employees on Feb. 29, 2020 (there’s no minimum number of employees and sole proprietors qualify).
• Certify that the business experienced at least a 25% revenue reduction since Feb. 29 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The city is encouraging interested businesses to create a MyJax business account at myjax.custhelp.com. Once at the site, follow the link for the “Small Business Assistance Program.”
The city has a contract with Fidelity National Information Services Inc. to provide the program’s prepared debit cards.
The $1.77 million was part of a larger $6 million in unused CARES Act money that Curry’s office and Council reallocated before a Dec. 31 federal deadline to use the money or return it to the U.S. Department of Treasury.