Owners of small businesses in Greene County negatively affected financially by the pandemic have a second opportunity to apply for CARES Act relief grants. The deadline for applications is Sept. 30

The Greene County Commission and 30-member citizen CARES Advisory Council reopened the application process for businesses employing up to 80 people that closed Aug. 3.

County officials allocated $6.5 million for the small business category from the total $34.4 million given to Greene County for coronavirus relief and mitigation efforts. To date, more than $5 million remains available for small businesses.

Since the process began, more than 170 small business applications were received and about 70 percent were in the 1-10 employee range. Applications continue to be reviewed on a rolling basis.

“Small business is the backbone of Greene County and we don’t want anyone to miss out on getting assistance if they qualify,” said CARES Grant Administrator Lyle Foster. “We are here to help businesses if they have questions or concerns about the application processes or if they are not sure if they are eligible for funds.”

Foster added that some business owners may not have applied because they believe if they have received other assistance, such as PPP funding, they cannot apply for CARES Relief Funds. That is not the case. He also stressed this is for small businesses throughout Greene County, not just businesses in the Springfield metro area.

Information related to the CARES Act funds, including the online application, is available on the “CARES Act Relief Fund” tab of greenecountymo.gov. This portion of the website also includes a transparency dashboard that shows allotments by category and how much has been approved in those areas. These graphs are updated as awards are made.

To date, the Commission has approved more than $22 million in CARES Act funds.