Ramsey County Small Business Relief Fund
****************************** Update as of December 18, 2020 ******************************
The Minnesota Legislature has approved a $217 million relief package for businesses impacted by COVID-19 executive orders. About half of the package will be given to counties to distribute through grant programs to local businesses by March 15, 2021.
Through the package, Ramsey County will receive $10.7 million to distribute to businesses. At this time, we anticipate that most of the funding will be used to supplement the Small Business Relief Fund.
Launched in June, the Small Business Relief Fund has been investing $15 million of CARES Act funding into Ramsey County businesses and self-employed entrepreneurs / sole proprietors. A third round of applications for the program opened on Nov. 18, the same week that Governor Walz issued Executive Order 20-99, which dialed back restrictions on bars, restaurants and gyms. Applications closed Dec. 4.
The volume of applications received during late November and early December exceeded the original $15 million budget for the fund. We estimate the outstanding applications total around $8-9 million in funding requests. The new $10.7 million in state funding will be prioritized to fulfill these outstanding applications.
Information on future application periods for the Small Business Relief Fund or other grant programs will be available once we’ve further reviewed existing applications to determine the amount of remaini
ng funds available.
To receive an alert as to when Ramsey County might begin accepting applications for funding, please provide an email address and description of your business here:
Funding for the Small Business Relief Fund is provided through the Ramsey County Investment and Support Efforts (RISE) program.
Round 3 Eligible Businesses |
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Self-employed/sole proprietor/creative businesses(up to $10,000 in qualified expenses or an additional $2,500 if previously funded) |
or |
Between 1 and 75 employees(up to $15,000 in qualified expenses, or an additional $5,000 if previously funded) |
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Must be a locally owned and operated for-profit business with a physical establishment in Ramsey County or resident of Ramsey County Shared commercial spaces and home based businesses Home-based businesses must document that the business is a primary source of income Must be licensed and in good standing, if applicable Must demonstrate a significant loss in revenue since March 15 (no credit score or collateral requirements apply) |
Must be a locally owned and operated for-profit business with a physical establishment in Ramsey County Must have at least one employee in addition to the owner and not more than 75 employees Must have been operating since March 1, 2020 Must be licensed, in good standing, current on property taxes prior to May 15, 2020, if applicable Must demonstrate a significant loss in revenue since March 15 (no credit score or collateral requirements apply) |
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The application period has now closed. |
Complete Guidelines | |
Technical Assistance Providers
The following organization are able to assist applicants in completing an application.
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Organization |
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Phone |
Languages Served |
|---|---|---|---|
|
612-333-4772 |
Somali, Oromo, Amharic, Swahili, English |
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|
651-222-7798 |
Hmong, Lao, Vietnamese, English | ||
|
651-646-9411 |
Oromo, Amharic, Somali, English | ||
|
612- 876-1317 |
Ebonics, English | ||
|
651-288-8744 |
English | ||
| Hmong Chamber of Commerce | info@mnhmongchamber.org | Hmong | |
|
651-395-4037 |
Spanish, English | ||
| Saint Paul Area Chamber of Commerce | tong@saintpaulchamber.com | English, Hmong | |
| Springboard for the Arts |
651-292-4381 |
English | |
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|
Sgaw Karen, Poe Karen, Karenni, English | ||
|
612-224-9540 |
English |
