Media contact(s):
Tyler Sinclair: (216) 225-3693; tsinclair01@cuyahogacounty.us 

The Funds Will Be Significant, Transformative, Impactful, and Minority-Focused.

Small Business STIMulus Grant Program 

CUYAHOGA COUNTY, OH – Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish announced the Cuyahoga County Small Business STIMulus Grant Program – the County’s latest initiative to support small businesses in the community. The program – utilizing American Rescue Plan Act dollars – will disburse approximately $2 million to local businesses. Legislation was passed last night by County Council and the application portal opened today. Applications will be accepted until 5:00 p.m. on Friday, September 9.

“We have previously provided more than $12 million – through our Small Business Stabilization Fund and Restaurant Stabilization Fund – to enable over 1,000 local businesses to survive COVID,” said Executive Budish. “However, we realized that still wasn’t enough and came up with the STIMulus Grant Program. Small businesses are the backbone of our community, and it is important that we all continue to support them in every way possible.” *

The grant program is specifically designed for small businesses who survived the COVID-19 pandemic and are seeking to grow, with an eye on minority-owned businesses. Grant award amounts range from $10,000 to $50,000. Eligible businesses must have fewer than 50 full-time equivalent employees, must have been in operation before June 1, 2020, and must be located in Cuyahoga County.

Interested businesses can get more information about the STIMulus Grant Program, eligibility requirements, and application process on the Cuyahoga County Department of Development’s webpage.

The National Development Council (NDC) will serve as the grant administrator and fiscal agent for the program. NDC will review all applications and make award recommendations to the STIMulus Grant’s Advisory Committee**. The 13-member committee will review all recommendations and give final approval on awards. Scoring priority will be given to applicants that are minority-owned and those that have secured additional outside funding support. Awardees will be notified in the fall of 2022.

“NDC is honored to have been selected as the administrator for the Cuyahoga County Small Business STIMulus Grant Program,” said Ann Finnegan, Manager of NDC Small Business Lending. “As we look at business needs following the Covid-19 Pandemic, we are excited about this unique grant program because it directly supports the next stage of growth for small businesses in Cuyahoga County.”

Cuyahoga County and NDC will host a “Submitting a Strong Application” webinar for interested business owners. The live one-hour webinar will be offered twice – on August 8th at 3:00 p.m. and on August 23rd at 12:00 p.m. Registration for both is now open. Recordings of each will be made available on the Development webpage.

*To hear from small business owners who received previous COVID-19 funding from Cuyahoga County, check out this video or subscribe to the Let’s Talk Cuyahoga Podcast and listen to “Episode 8: Small Business Week in Cuyahoga County.”

**The 13-member Advisory Committee includes representatives from the Greater Cleveland Chinese Chamber of Commerce, The Presidents’ Council, The Hispanic Business Center, Global Cleveland, The Economic & Community Development Institute , Greater Cleveland Partnership, Cleveland Neighborhood Progress, Ohio Minority Business Development Agency, Ohio Aerospace Institute, Ohio Procurement Technical Assistance Center, JumpStart, Ubiz/The Urban League of Greater Cleveland, and Cuyahoga County’s Department of Development.