Loudoun County adds $5.7M to small business relief fund

Businesses will receive between $5K and $7.5K in funding

Published May 22, 2020 by Sydney Lake

Photo courtesy Loudoun County Department of Economic Development.

The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors approved an additional $5.7 million in grant funding for a second and third round of its COVID-19 Business Interruption Fund, which supports small businesses affected by the pandemic. The funding was allocated from the $36.1 million in federal funding to Loudoun County from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

“The Board of Supervisors wanted to be responsive to the feedback we received from solo entrepreneurs and small enterprises that were left out of the first round of funding,” Phyllis Randall, Loudoun County Board of Supervisors chair at large, said in a statement. “We’re excited to offer this financial lifeline.”

During the first round of the Business Interruption Fund, $1.4 million was distributed among more than 200 businesses in the county. This second round of funding will devote $3.7 million to fund businesses that were not randomly selected during the first round. Each of the 475 eligible businesses will receive $7,500 grants. The remaining $2 million will go to a third round of funding, which will be open to fund an additional 400 randomly selected businesses with a $5,000 grant.

Eligible businesses for the third round of funding are those that have between zero and two W-2 employees, have less than $2.5 million in gross annual receipts, have at least a 25% loss in revenue attributable to COVID-19 and are licensed and operated in Loudoun County. There is no limit on 1099 contractors that a business may have to be eligible.

The application for the third round of funding will open at 12 p.m. on June 3, and will be open until 12 p.m. on June 6. All applications will be time stamped, and all applicants will be randomly selected for funding until the funding is depleted. The Loudoun Economic Development Authority will disperse the funds to selected businesses starting the last week in June.

“We know that many in our community are hurting as a result of COVID-19, but I’m pleased that the county is now able to help hundreds of more businesses as a result of this additional allocation by the board of bupervisors to our Business Interruption Fund,” Supervisor Matt Letourneau, chairman of the board’s finance, economic development and government operations committee, said in a statement.