With unanimous approval by the Board of Supervisors and the Hanover County Economic Development Authority, the Department of Economic Development launched the Small Business Resiliency Grant program to support small businesses negatively affected by interruptions and mandated business closures due to COVID-19.

As a result, 58 small businesses in Hanover will receive a total of $270,384. The 58 approved applicants employed 88 people as of June 1, 2020. Of that total, 53% were Small, Women-owned and Minority-owned businesses, and more than 70% of applicants had fewer than 10 employees.

Applications were received during two separate rounds between July 27 and September 14, 2020. Businesses approved for funding met eligibility requirements, submitted proof of payment for eligible expenses, and complied with Hanover County’s registration and tax filing requirements.

“We are grateful to the Hanover County Board of Supervisors for recognizing the importance of supporting our local small business community through our CARES Act Resiliency Grant Program,” said Linwood Thomas, Director of Economic Development. “These businesses are the backbone of our community, and it is nice to be able to help them recover some of the investment they have been required to make during the pandemic to continue their operations.”

The Hanover County Small Business Resiliency Grant, which leveraged $300,000 of federal funding under the CARES Act, offered up to $7,500 in recovery funding to eligible businesses with 50 or fewer employees.