The City of Kenai is reopening, for one week, the application period for municipal CARES Act grants to businesses and nonprofits. Applications will be available at the City website on Friday, and the application period will close at 5 p.m. on Friday, July 17.
The City will receive $7.7 million in federal CARES Act funding through the state’s allocation formula, and the Kenai City Council has decided to distribute about half of the funds to businesses, nonprofits, and individuals in need of financial assistance due to the economic damage of the COVID-19 public health emergency.
The first grant application period for businesses and nonprofits closed June 19, and one week later, the City sent out almost $2 million to more than 180 eligible participants. City Manager Paul Ostrander said in a public release that this one-week window is to give people one more chance to submit an application.
The program is open to Kenai businesses with at least $50,000 in annual revenues, with the one-time grants ranging from $2,500 to $10,000 per business, depending on the applicant’s gross revenues. The grants to nonprofits will range from $10,000 up to $50,000, also depending on the size of the operation.
The grants can be used to help businesses and nonprofits deal with the loss of income due to mandatory shutdowns, inventory loss, additional operating expenses of reopening to the public, costs of protecting staff and customers or the public, or other economic impacts.
The City has set up a page on its website with information on the grants program as well as an online application.