Baltimore city opens up $11M in COVID-19 relief funds for businesses, nonprofits

More than six months into the COVID-19 pandemic and economic downturn, many businesses are still facing struggles and Congress hasn’t passed a second relief package.

On the local level, the City of Baltimore is making more relief available with a pair of funds for small businesses and nonprofits. This builds on relief dollars that were previously made available by the City in the spring.

“Baltimore’s small businesses have been agile in their response to COVID-19, and we must not relent in our efforts to assist our small businesses during this time,” Mayor Bernard C. “Jack” Young said in a statement.

Here’s a quick look at the funds:

$2 million small business grant fund

The Baltimore Development Corporation (BDC) is administering a fund that allows small businesses to apply for $15,000 grants. This can be used for expenses such as rent, payroll and purchasing PPE to reopen. BDC is setting aside a portion of the funds for businesses that were unable to qualify for other state or federal aid. Application info will be at the Baltimore Together website on Oct. 5.

“By the number of grant applications we received during the first round, it was very evident that there are still many businesses that are struggling,” said Colin Tarbert, president and CEO of BDC, in a statement.

$5 million Baltimore Nonprofit Relief Fund

The City is opening a new fund to provide support for the nonprofits that were rocked the hardest by the pandemic.

With federal CARES Act dollars, the Baltimore Civic Fund will award funding of up to $75,000 for nonprofits. These funds can cover expenses incurred during the pandemic that include hardware or software used for remote work, PPE, accommodations for social distancing guidelines or new programming launched since March 27.

$4 million for childcare providers

This came as the City also announced $4 million in funding to support childcare providers, which Young said play an important role in the economy. This will include grants of up to $20,000 for licensed child care centers and up to $5,000 for registered family childcare homes.