Anchorage

Anchorage announces recipients of $5 million in small-business COVID-19 relief grants

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On Thursday, the Municipality of Anchorage announced the recipients of its second wave of small-business COVID-19 relief grants.

The money comes from the CARES Act federal COVID-19 economic relief package, and is intended to help businesses impacted by the pandemic. Those selected will receive $10,000 grants to fund payroll, rent, utilities and other expenses.

In total, 495 businesses will receive funds, including restaurants, nail salons and construction companies.

The city gave first dibs to businesses and sole proprietors that applied for the initial, $1 million pilot wave of the small-business relief fund. That wait list consisted of 245 businesses, according to a city statement.

Another 250 businesses were randomly selected from a larger pool vying for the remainder of the $5 million allocated for the second wave of the program.

The grant program is being facilitated by Cook Inlet Lending Center. So far, more than 200 businesses have received the funds.

Many more businesses applied than were selected, so the city is considering further relief options, the city said in its statement.

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To be eligible, businesses must have had less than $1 million in gross revenue in 2019, had 20 or fewer employees in 2019, be located within the municipality and cater to people of all ages.

The $6 million for small-business grants is in addition to $14 million the city allocated for the hospitality and tourism industries and $10 million for child care providers.

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Aubrey Wieber

Aubrey Wieber covers Anchorage city government, politics and general assignments for the Daily News. He previously covered the Oregon Legislature for the Salem Reporter, was a reporter for the Salt Lake Tribune and Bend Bulletin, and was a reporter and editor at the Post Register in Idaho Falls. Contact him at awieber@adn.com.

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